Aibel awarded EPCIC contract for Equinor’s Irpa gas field development

Thursday, November 24 2022

Fossil Energy – Irpa

Aibel has been awarded a billion NOK contract by Equinor for extensive modifications and preparation of the Aasta Hansteen platform for tie-in of the Irpa field (previously Asterix).

Aibel estimates the contract to be a large contract which at peak will employ over 200 people. Management and engineering will be carried out from Aibel’s office in Stavanger with the support of the offices in Oslo and Singapore.

In addition, the project will exploit synergies with Aibel’s existing maintenance and modification contract for Aasta Hansteen, which is led by the Harstad office. Prefabrication and module assembly will take place at Aibel’s yards in Haugesund and Thailand.

The EPCIC contract (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning) was an option when Aibel last year was awarded the FEED contract (Front End Engineering and Design) to plan the modifications in detail.

Irpa is a gas field located 80 kilometers west of the Aasta Hansteen platform in the Norwegian Sea. The field will be developed as a so-called tie-in to Aasta Hansteen with export through the 482 km long gas pipeline Polarled to the Nyhamna gas processing plant.

In order to receive production from the Irpa field, comprehensive modifications must be made to the Aasta Hansteen platform, which will also extend its lifespan by seven years. This includes, among other things, integration work on the platform’s existing processing equipment as well as construction and installation of an approx. 450 tonnes mono ethylene glycol module (MEG module).

Engineering work starts immediately, while the first offshore activities are expected already during February 2023. The project is expected to be completed in 2026.