– Actually, the project was supposed to be finished in autumn 2022. In practice, we are two years behind schedule, says Ola Hjøllo, project director for Johan Castberg at Equinor. At Aker Solutions in Stord, around 2,000 people are working day and night to get the production ship Johan Castberg finished by January 2024. After it is finished, the ship will go to the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea. On the field, which is located around 200 kilometers north of the coast of Finnmark, Equinor will produce oil for 30 years. Facts about Johan Castberg The Johan Castberg field is located in the Barents Sea, approximately 100 kilometers north of the Snøhvit field and 240 kilometers from Melkøya. The sea depth is 360-390 metres. The field consists of the discoveries Skrugard, Havis and Drivis. Estimated recoverable volumes are between 450 and 650 million barrels of oil equivalent. Johan Castberg production ships and facilities are designed to be able to produce 190,000 barrels per day and for a lifetime of 30 years. The field has been developed with a total of 30 wells. Johan Castberg will have a supply and helicopter base in Hammerfest and an operating organization in Harstad. (Source: Equinor) The reason for the delays is, among other things, the coronavirus. In addition, Equinor has discovered that the welding work in Singapore was carried out too poorly. – How much has the delay cost Equinor? – The really big cost for Equinor and its partners is delayed start-up on the field, says Hjøllo. Big costs And the costs are big. Equity analyst Steffen Evjen at DNB Markets estimates that the loss could be over NOK 100 billion, based on today’s oil price. Aker Solutions at Stord has been responsible for equipping the ship. Photo: Olav Røli / news – It will be hypothetical. If one assumes flat production of 190,000 barrels of oil per day for two years at today’s oil price, which is 85 dollars, then that implies 11.8 billion dollars. In kroner, it will be over 116 billion. According to the state budget for 2023, costs have also increased by NOK 9 billion since the plan for development and operation was delivered in 2017 – from NOK 54 billion to NOK 63 billion. Photo: Danske Bank A floating oil platform For the first time, the press was allowed aboard the 313-metre-long production ship. The length corresponds to over three football pitches. The ship is a so-called FPSO, a type of floating oil platform. There is still plastic over the furniture on the ship. Photo: Olav Røli / news The storage tanks on the ship can store 1.1 million barrels of oil. That is close to 175 million liters of oil. Lots of scaffolding and lots of plastic indicate that the enormous colossus is not finished. – There is a lot of work left, but we will manage it. We will be finished by November this year, says construction manager Bjarte Urdal. The ship arrived in Norway in April 2022. Since then, it has been hectic for the employees at Stord. The ship when it arrived in Norway in April 2021. The ship spent 50 days from the shipyard in Singapore to Stord. Photo: Jan Arne Wold & Bo B. Randulff – Everything has to be put together and we have to check that everything works as it should. That is what will happen in the next year before the ship sails from here, says Sturla Magnus, executive vice president of Aker Solutions. Will produce 190,000 barrels a day When the ship is fully operational, Hjøllo in Equinor expects that there will be between 30 and 40 people on board. – The production ship is designed for 190,000 barrels a day. That is what we are going to produce, says Hjøllo. The control room on the ship. Here they will manage all oil and gas production. Photo: Olav Røli / news According to Equinor, the project still has a break-even price of 35 dollars a barrel. – We assumed that we would manage on 35 dollars a barrel when we submitted the plan for development. It looks like we will be able to do that, he says. – Do you think this is the last large production ship to be equipped here in Norway? – Maybe I don’t want to believe that. It looks like there will be more and more production ships, says Hjøllo.
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Working to complete the production ship Johan Castberg – Equinor may have lost over 100 billion – news Vestland
