Troll A. (Photo: Øyvind Hagen/Statoil)
Turnarounds are necessary to allow required maintenance, modifications and inspections to be carried out in order to maintain safe and efficient operation. The purpose of turnarounds is to make the platforms safer and more robust, as well as improve production regularity and extend their life.
Due to the nature of the tasks they cannot be done while the plant is in operation and the time is limited. For this reason a turnaround makes strict demands on planning and preparation of the jobs, both for Statoil and our suppliers.
HSE is first priority
“A successful turnaround is a shutdown without any serious incidents, injuries or unintentional discharges,” says Jannicke Hilland, head of joint operations on the NCS. “Completing all planned work and resuming production as planned are also important success factors.”
A turnaround is a busy period to both Statoil’s own employees and its suppliers, but HSE has always first priority during the comprehensive work to be done during such shutdowns.
Increasing production
Troll A is not the only platform to be subject to a turnaround next month. Snøhvit, Kvitebjørn, Visund and Statfjord C, as well as Gullfaks A and B have also planned shutdowns in times ahead. More fields will follow this summer. By the end of October we will have completed a total of 23 turnarounds on the installations and plants we operate in Norway.
Åsgard A will have the longest shutdown. The swivel will be changed for the first time, and the turnaround will therefore last during most of June and July. The purpose of the swivel change is to make the plant more robust and prepare for export of electric power to the Åsgard subsea compression system currently being developed.
Snøhvit will have the most labour intensive turnaround this year. In addition to maintenance, modifications and inspections requiring production stop, the world’s largest seawater exchanger and two large engines will be changed and modification work will be done in the cooling tower. All these tasks will help increase the plant’s production capacity.
Another important job in this year’s turnaround is the finalisation of the Statfjord late life project. The comprehensive project will help extend the life of Statfjord C. Snorre A will take the opportunity during the shutdown to carry out tasks such as upgrading the system that controls the production and safety systems on board to further modernize operation and improve the working conditions for the control room staff.
The turnarounds’ impact on Statoil’s production volume has been taken into account in the company’s production guiding. Even if the turnarounds lead to production stop and loss of income during the days it is shut down, they help improve safety and increase production and earnings in the longer term.
Platform/plant
- Åsgard A
- Troll A
- Oseberg F
- Oseberg South
- Oseberg East
- Oseberg C
- Statfjord C
- Snorre B
- Snorre A/Vigdis
- Statfjord A
- Kvitebjørn
- Gullfaks B
- Gullfaks A
- Visund
- Huldra/Veslefrikk
- Heimdal
- Brage
- Glitne
- Grane
- Snøhvit
- Kalundborg
- Sture