Equinor and its partners in the Snorre and Gullfaks developments have made a final investment decision for the Hywind Tampen offshore wind farm project in the Norwegian North Sea (OGJ Online, Aug. 28, 2018). Two updated plans for development and operation will be submitted to Norwegian authorities Oct. 11.
The oil and gas platforms at these projects will be the first ever powered by a floating offshore wind farm. The wind farm will lie 140 km offshore in 260-300 m of water between the Snorre and Gullfaks platforms and will consist of 11 wind turbines based on the Equinor’s Hywind technology. The 8-Mw turbines will have a total capacity of 88 Mw, capable of meeting about 35% of the annual power demand of the five Snorre A and B and Gullfaks A, B, and C platforms. Reducing the use of gas turbines on the fields helps cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 200,000 tonnes/year, the company said.
The Hywind Tampen investments will total almost 5 billion kroner. Norwegian authorities through Enova have made a funding commitment of up to 2.3 billion kroner for the project. In addition, the Business Sector’s NOx Fund will support the project by with up to 566 million kroner.
The receipt of consent by authorities to extend the productive life of Gullfaks field to 2036 and Snorre field to 2040, up to 20 years longer than when initially planned, was essential to realizing the Hywind Tampen project, said Arne Sigve Nylund, Equinor’s executive vice-president for development and production, Norway (OGJ Online, Oct. 10, 2018; Mar. 4, 2019).
According to a study performed by Multiconsult the Hywind Tampen project will generate 1,550-3,000 man-years through the field’s productive life in spin-offs for Norwegian industry. Most of the spin-offs will be generated in the project’s development phase, the company said.
Scheduled to come on stream in late 2022, Hywind Tampen will be operated from Equinor’s Bergen office. Gulen Industrihamn has been chosen for the assembly of the floating wind turbines.
Equinor serves as operator of Gullfaks with 51%. Partners are Petoro 30% and OMV AG 19%.
Equinor serves as operator of Snorre with 33.3%. Partners are Petoro 30%, ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Norway AS 17.5%, Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS 9.6%, DEA Norge AS 8.6%, and Var Energi AS 1.1%.