Statoil has awarded Technip a subsea intervention contract to cover work on the Asgard subsea compression project offshore Norway.

Under a contract worth between US $136 million and $341 million, Technip will become responsible for the provision of future subsea intervention services at the Asgard compression project using the heavy-duty inspection, maintenance, and repair vessel, North Sea Giant. The vessel will be on a long-term charter to Statoil as part of the deal.

In a statement Technip said the work will be performed under a call-off contract as part of an extension to an existing marine operations contract covering the Asgard subsea compression project, for which the vessel and specialized handling equipment were specifically developed for deployment in harsh environments.

Equipment on board the North Sea Giant includes a specialized handling system for installation and recovery of subsea modules weighing up to 400 tons in rough seas, which can operate with wave heights up to 4.5 m (14.7 ft). The vessel and its equipment will also be available to Statoil for construction and intervention assignments at other fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Commencing after 2015 when the Asgard subsea compression modules are due to be installed, the new contract will be managed by Technip staff in Norway.

Asgard subsea compression is the world’s first subsea gas compression system and features the first deployment of subsea pumps, gas scrubbers, and coolers on the seabed close to wellheads. Subsea hardware will compress gas from both the Midgard and Mikkel gas fields, which will flow back to Norway’s Asgard B installation.