20 January 2010
Goliat will reinforce oil spill preparedness in the north
PRESS RELEASE: A new safety and standby vessel specially adapted to the conditions in the Barents Sea will be built for the Goliat field. The vessel will reinforce the oil spill preparedness in the region.
Eni Norge has signed a letter of intent with Esvagt A/S regarding delivery of a state of the art safety and standby vessel to be used during operation of the Goliat field in the Barents Sea. The contract has duration of 10 years. The agreement entails the construction of a new vessel fitted with the best available technology and is a major milestone towards reaching the objective of a robust and effective oil spill preparedness on the Goliat field.
The winterised vessel will be mobilised at the field location at all times and will be designed and equipped to operate under Barents Sea conditions. The vessel will be built in compliance with the most up-to-date oil spill contingency requirements (NOFO 2009). This will guarantee a rapid and effective response in the event of oil spills or search and rescue missions.
The safety and standby vessel will carry both a fast rescue boat and a daughter craft with a stern solution which will secure efficient and robust rescue operations. The vessel will be equipped with oil detection radar and infrared cameras will enable the location and monitoring of sea-surface oil in conditions of reduced visibility and darkness. Eni will in cooperation with NOFO equip the vessel with latest generation off shore oil boom. The vessel will also have equipment onboard to facilitate the use of dispersants, together with increased heated storage capacity for recovered oil.
The Danish company Esvagt A/S (www.esvagt.dk) is a supplier of offshore safety-related services and is part of the SVITZER Group which is wholly owned by A.P Møller-Mærsk. The agreement is done in cooperation with shipbrokers RG Hagland AS (www.haglandoffshore.com) in Haugesund. The agreement is a key component designed to ensure that the terms and conditions stipulated in the Plan for Development and Operation will be met.
The Goliat field is located in an area awarded as part of the Barents Sea Round in 1997. It is planned to commence production from the Goliat field during the 4th quarter of 2013. The licensees in the Production License 229/229B are Eni Norge AS (operator, 65%) and Statoil Petroleum AS (partner, 35%).
Eni Norge is a subsidiary of Eni S.p.A, one of the world’s largest integrated energy companies, based in Italy.
Contact representative in Eni Norge:
Communications Manager
Telefon +47 926 16 759/+47 52 87 49 68
andreas.wulff@eninorge.com
Contact representative in Esvagt A/S:
Ovin H. Carlsson
Managing Director
Tel. +45 33 98 77 19/+45 204 41 119
ohc@esvagt.dk