StatoilHydro Completes 58% Of Karsto Expansion Project 2010 In Norway

StatoilHydro ASA (StatoilHydro) has, together with the suppliers, completed 58% of Karsto expansion project 2010 on behalf of the operator Gassco AS (Gassco). The construction part of the project is 35% complete. Karsto processing plant in north of Stavanger transports and processes gas and condensate (light oil) from major regions of the Norwegian continental shelf. StatoilHydro is the technical service provider for Karsto.

This is a very important project that will help make the plant more robust. Karsto is a key component of Norway's gas machine and helps make the StatoilHydro group a stable and reliable gas supplier every day, all year, says Kjetil Ohm, senior vice president for processing and transportat in Natural Gas.

High activity levels

Construction manpower levels are peaking right now. Some 300 employees are directly involved in the plant construction. They must interact safely and effectively with some 400 employees involved in operations, maintenance and modifications.

A total of 1,000,000 direct man-hours have been spent on the project so far. The estimate for the entire project is 1,850,000 direct man-hours.

With the current high activity levels we of course focus heavily on HSE. This includes using a new risk management tool that calculates the risk of all planned work, Ohm says.

Coordination of projects

Also two new sub-projects will become part of Karsto expansion project 2010 from August 1, 2009. Four metering stations for product loading from tanks into carriers will be replaced and equipment for mixing gas between the Statpipe and Asgard pipelines will be installed to ensure the right CO2 level in the export gas.

In 2010, the oldest Karsto facilities will celebrate their 25th anniversary. Investments totaling about NOK8 billion have been made in Karsto expansion project 2010, including the new sub-projects, optimizing operation and extending the life of Europe's largest gas plant of its kind.

Karsto processing plant:

Gassco is the operator of the Karsto facilities, whereas StatoilHydro is technical service provider. The Karsto facilities are owned by the Gassled partnership where StatoilHydro has some 32% interest.

The key suppliers for Karsto expansion project 2010 comprise of MW Kellogg Limited, Aibel AS, ABB AS, Fabricom AS, Veidekke AS, Hima Sella Limited, Moss Varmeteknikk AS and BIS Indistrier AS.