Statoil has transferred the operatorship of the 482km subsea Polarled pipeline to Norwegian state-owned company Gassco.

The pipeline runs between the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea and Nyhamna in Møre og Romsdal.

The original investment budget for the pipeline project stood at nearly Nkr11bn ($1.2bn). However, when it is handed over to Gassco, the investments have been reduced to Nkr6.5bn ($754m).

Polarled crosses the Arctic circle on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and has a gas transportation capacity of around 70 million cubic metres a day.

Statoil project development senior vice president Torger Rød said: “This was achieved thanks to good planning, good market knowledge and good implementation capturing synergies between several pipeline projects.

“Based on this, we have also been able to adjust capacity and price to the market.”

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The pipe laying started at Nyhamna in March 2015 and was completed in September after the last pipe joint was installed at the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea.

“Polarled opens for gas export to Europe from an entirely new area, bolstering the position of the Norwegian Continental Shelf as a reliable long-term supplier.”

Statoil asset management senior vice-president Grete Haaland said: “Polarled opens for gas export to Europe from an entirely new area, bolstering the position of the Norwegian Continental Shelf as a reliable long-term supplier.

“With the infrastructure in place, it will also be more attractive to explore and develop fields in the neighbouring areas.”

The pipeline comprises six tie-in points for new discoveries and Dvalin will be the first field, alongside Aasta Hansteen using Polarled.

Under the deal, Gassco will also receive operatorship for Polarled Development (PD) project that involves upgrading of Shell-operated Nyhamna gas processing plant.


Image: Gassco CEO Frode Leversund (left), Statoil asset management senior vice-president Grete Birgitte Haalan and PD project director Håkon Ivarjord. Photo: courtesy of Statoil ASA.