Last weekend, Greta Thunberg and activists from Extinction Rebellion took action against the Kårstø gas plant to prevent normal operation. The campaign attracted a lot of attention, but operations continued as normal. This weekend, however, operations at Kårstø will be closed in a planned operation. The reason is that the facility needs maintenance, which will take place over a period of three weeks. When the facility is closed, there will be torching on Kårstø throughout the weekend, which means large flames and black smoke from the flame towers. The gas at the plant is burned up before the workers can move in. FLARING: Flames and smoke from Kårstø will be clearly visible to anyone driving past along the E39 in Nord-Rogaland this weekend. Photo: Bjørn Helge rønning – Every eight years we have to carry out maintenance and work tasks that we can only do when there is no gas in the plant, says communications manager Ove Tungesvik at Equinor. The “dairy” Kårstø gas plant is very important for Europe, as 25 percent of the gas Norway sends to Europe passes through Kårstø. Equinor’s Tungesvik compares Kårstø to a dairy. – At a dairy, the farmer delivers his milk, and then the milk is split into H-milk, low-fat milk, cream and yoghurt and so on. The same thing actually happens at Kårstø, says Tungesvik and explains: – We bring in rich gas, and then we split this into various products such as methane, propane and butane. Through the Statpipe and Euroline II pipes, gas to the value of NOK 400 million is sent to Europe – every day. – Will some money be lost? – Yes of course! Everyone has included this in their calculations, says Tungesvik, with reference to the gas market and others who are affected by the downtime. EUROPE’S LARGEST: Every year around 650 ships sail through Kårstø to transport liquefied gas and oil from Europe’s largest shipping port. Photo: Thomas Ystrøm / news The operator Gassco, through facility manager Ida Vassmo Andersen, informs news that the budget for the Kårstø station is in excess of NOK 700 million. In several threat assessments, the Norwegian gas supply has been singled out as one of the biggest sabotage targets in Europe. Gassco does not want to go into more detail about what measures are put in place when 2,000 people, of which 1,000 are external, start maintenance work over three weeks. – Safety is the top priority at Gassco, and we have great focus both in daily operations and during shutdowns. A number of security measures are being implemented in connection with the shutdown, without which we wish to go into these individually, says Andersen. Kårstø processing plant Kårstø is located in Tysvær municipality in Rogaland. The facility has received gas from the shelf and sent it on to Europe since 1985. Around 30 fields are connected to Kårstø via pipelines. The gas sold to Europe is called dry gas, and is a mixture of methane and some ethane. Source: Gassco, Equinor. – Spectacular A central part of the maintenance is the oil service company Beerenberg which is responsible. In less than seven days, 150 highly trained climbers, known as access technicians in the technical language, will replace four torch tips. These are located in the flame towers. The flame towers and torch tips are a vital safety system if something goes wrong in the process plant. The prestigious mission must be solved at a height of up to 100 metres, and it must take place both night and day throughout the week. Every single hour must go as planned. – The assignment will be one of the most spectacular in Beerenberg’s history, says Bertil Bargård, who is in charge of the project. TIME LIMIT: Over the course of a week, around 150 “climbers” from Beerenberg will carry out over 20,000 hours of work at up to 100 meters in height. Photo: Bjørn Helge Rønning Bargård says that the complexity, the short time and the safety-critical function of the flame towers make the assignment very special. Norway and Kårstø’s position in the European gas market increases the pressure. – Europe is following along. There is no doubt about that, says Bargård. Published 30.08.2024, at 19.53
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– Spectacular – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
