Successful Heavy Lift for Dvalin
After a major construction phase, the 3,500t Dvalin module has been lifted safely aboard the Heidrun platform in the Norwegian Sea. The three-hour operation on 3 August ranks among the heaviest lifts onto an existing platform in the history of the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The Wintershall Dea operated Dvalin field is a subsea gas development tied back to Heidrun, 15km to the northwest in the Norwegian Sea. In the case of Dvalin, some 700 yard workers have spent two and a half years building a dedicated gas treatment module. “The Dvalin team has worked purposefully to safely construct and install this giant module in time and within budget. It is very satisfying to see this impressive technical feat carried out successfully and without incidents”, says Hugo Dijkgraaf, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Member of the Board of Wintershall Dea.
The Dvalin module was built at the Aibel yard in Haugesund on behalf of Equinor, which is the operator of the Heidrun platform. Wintershall Dea has worked closely with both companies to ensure smooth delivery of the unit. “So far, there have been 3.5 million working hours carried out on the Dvalin project without a single serious injury. Although the project is still ongoing, I am incredibly proud that we have had such a clear focus on safe operation, while at the same time delivering against the project plan,” Thomas Kainer, Senior Vice President, Major Project Dvalin at Wintershall Dea, states.
The lifting operation was carried out by the heavy lifting vessel Saipem 7000. The Dvalin module was lifted from the barge onto the Heidrun platform over the course of three hours. Witnessing the heavy lift from aboard the Saipem 7000, Anita Albriktsen, Topsides Host Manager, comments: “For those of us who have followed the construction of the module, from the first steel cut, through the pulling of 100,000m of cable and welding
of 3,700 joints, to seeing it now on Heidrun, it was a great experience to see the module being lifted in place.”
The Dvalin gas field in the Norwegian Sea is being developed with four subsea wells, tied back to the Equinor operated Heidrun host platform. The gas from Dvalin will be transported to the Heidrun platform via a 15km pipeline. From there, it will be sent to the Polarled gas transportation system via a 7.5km pipeline, before it
will be further processed to dry gas at the Nyhamna onshore gas terminal. Finally, the gas will be transported via Gassled to the market.