Wintershall DEA has installed two subsea templates on the ocean floor in Norway on May 20, marking a major milestone for the operated Nova project, and the first operational landmark for the newly merged global company.

The installation unlocks the next phase of the field development, with 65 km (40 miles) of pipelines now ready to be laid in preparation for tie-back to the nearby Gjøa platform in the North Sea.

“As the first major subsea delivery for the Nova project, and for Wintershall DEA as a merged business, the installation of these two templates marks an important milestone for our global operations and a signal of our ambition to invest capital and expertise in our core regions around the world,” Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall DEA chief technology officer, said.

The Nova oil field is being developed with two subsea templates tied back to the Neptune-operated Gjøa platform. Gjøa will receive the well stream, and provide water injection and gas lift to the Nova field. A new module will be lifted onto Gjøa in 2020.

Subsea 7’s Seven Arctic vessel sailed the two 300 tonne templates 45 km (27 miles) from the base in Florø to the Nova field, before craning the structures 370 m below the ocean surface. The templates were constructed by Aker Solutions in Egersund on the west coast of Norway.

Nova is located in the Norwegian North Sea, 120 km northwest of Bergen. The expected recoverable reserves from the field are around 80 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which the majority will be oil. The partnership is investing almost 1.1 billion euros (US$1.2 billion) in the development of the Nova field, which is expected to come on stream in 2021.

Wintershall DEA holds a 45% share. Other project partners are Capricorn Norge AS (fully owned subsidiary of Cairn Energy Plc) (20%), Spirit Energy Norge AS (20%) and Edison Norge AS (15%).

Wintershall and DEA merged on May 1 to form Wintershall DEA.