Goliat FPSO Arrives in Norway

The Goliat platform has arrived in Hammerfest, Norway, after a 63-day journey from South Korea covering 15,608 nautical miles. It will now undergo final preparations for the first oil production from the Barents Sea. When the field comes on stream later this summer, Goliat will become the world's northernmost producing offshore oil field. 

The platform has been transported using the Dockwise Vanguard – the world's largest heavy transport vessel. The voyage has been made across the Indian Ocean, around the southern tip of Africa and then north through the Atlantic west of the British Isles. 

The platform is a cylindrical FPSO facility. In the fjord outside Hammerfest, the deck of the transport vessel will be submerged to a depth of ten meters, enabling the platform to be floated off into the sea. The facility will then float in its own right and five tugboats will take over the work of moving the 170-metre high structure to Ersvika, south-west of Hammerfest. 

Once at Ersvika, work to complete final preparations for production will begin. This will include inspections, tests and checks of all systems and equipment. Work on the platform will be a round-the-clock operation. A total of eleven vessels will take part in the in-fjord work phase, which is expected to take between two and three weeks. 

On location in May 

Following final preparations at Ersvika, the platform will be towed approximately 80 kilometers to the Goliat field location, where it will first be connected to its 14 anchor lines. The umbilicals and risers will be installed and the platform will then be connected to the electrical power cable from the mainland. Finally, the platform and subsea systems will be made ready for production. 

Goliat is planned to come on stream in mid-2015.

Tailored for the Barents Sea 

The Goliat FPSO is the world's largest and most advanced cylindrical oil production platform. It is specially designed and constructed to adapt to the long winter nights and icing hazards typical of the Barents Sea. The platform is fully winterized and designed to withstand 100-year Barents Sea storm conditions.

Innovative technologies have been developed in a number of areas, not only to reduce the risks to personnel and the environment, but also to enable the platform to deal with any emergency response situations.

It was designed by the Norwegian company Sevan Marine, and it a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day and a storage capacity of one million barrels.

The platform weighs 64,000 tons (dead weight) and is 107 meters in diameter and 170 meters high, including its flare tower. The height from its base to the helideck is 75 meters.

Once in production, the Goliat platform will be manned by about 40 people. The field will be operated from Hammerfest, where Eni Norge has established a 60-strong operations organization. 

It has been important for Eni Norge to generate industrial spin-offs in northern Norway. This has been achieved by requiring suppliers to establish a local presence and offices in Hammerfest. The result is that as many as 50 companies with bases in Hammerfest have been involved in the supply of goods and services to the Goliat project.

World’s northernmost oil field

Goliat is the world’s northernmost offshore oil field development project. The estimated recoverable reserves in the field are 178 million barrels of oil equivalents. The lifetime of the field is currently estimated at 15 years.

Three specially designed tankers have been built to transport oil from the Goliat field. One tanker will call at the platform every week.

Eni norge is the operator of the field (65 percent ownership share) and Statoil (35 percent ownership share) is a partner.

Images: Eni Norge.