Aker Solutions will deliver a concept study on a new processing platform for future phases of the Statoil-operated Johan Sverdrup North Sea field, Norway’s largest oil find in three decades, Aker said in a news release.

The study includes design solutions for a tie-in of the platform and future satellites to the field center that is being developed in the project’s first phase, according to the release. The work will be carried out by Aker Solutions in Oslo and Stavanger and will be delivered in the summer.

The study is being carried out under the framework engineering agreement awarded to Aker Solutions for Johan Sverdrup in 2013. Aker said it is in the second year of a five-year engineering, procurement and management assistance assignment for the topsides of the first phase's processing and riser platforms and the overall design integrity of the field. At its peak this work is expected to involve more than 1,000 employees at engineering hubs in Oslo, London and Mumbai.

Johan Sverdrup is estimated to hold between 1.7 billion to 3 billion barrels of oil equivalents, according to the release. It’s expected to produce between 550,000 and 650,000 barrels of oil equivalents a day when fully developed, equal to about a quarter of current domestic output. Production is slated to start in late 2019 and is predicted to last for about 50 years. The first development phase will consist of four platforms linked by bridges.

Statoil is operator for the development, which spans three licenses. Other partners include Lundin Norway, Petoro, Maersk Oil and Det norske oljeselskap, the release said.

Offshore