Following an engineering and design study to protect the production wells of the Johan Castberg project in Norway, Statoil awarded the contract for the supply of equipment and the production of the seawater sulphate removal unit system to the consortium led by SUEZ and the Norwegian company Halvorsen TEC. Discovered in 2011, the Johan Castberg field will be developed with an FPSO production vessel and subsea solutions to explore oil resources in the Barents Sea.
As part of this oil project1, SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions will supply nanofiltration membranes to reduce sulphates in the seawater and an ultrafiltration pre-treatment system. Delivery of the equipment is expected to take place at the beginning of 2020, while the first oil is expected to be produced in the first half of 2022.
Signing of the equipment contract follows a year-long "Front End Engineering Design"2 program, where SUEZ and Halversen TEC demonstrated the feasibility of the technology and the associated expertise to meet the specific requirements of the project. Installed on an offshore platform, the system will treat the seawater injected into the wells. By ensuring the elimination of sulphates, it will protect the production wells and prevent deposits, which can clog and damage the oil field.
SUEZ will also provide the oil company with the "OnBoard" service and "InSight" solution package. Already used on more than 40,000 industrial sites around the world, this decision-making support platform combines advanced data and analytics for maximum operational efficiency, while ensuring the continuity of activities and reducing operating costs. It will be possible to set up this service at the start of operation.
