The Skanled development focuses on a planned gas transport system between Norway, Sweden and Denmark, with a total pipeline length of 853 kilometres. Provision will be made for possible spurs to Lista and Slagentangen in southern and south-eastern Norway. With costs estimated at about NOK 10 billion, an investment decision on the pipeline scheme is due in October 2009. Gas deliveries are planned to start in December 2012.
The Skanled project also involves spending on new facilities at Rafnes south of Oslo, where ethane will be extracted from the gas for local industrial use. With these and other associated developments, the scheme would rank as one of Norway’s largest industrial investments of recent years.
“The Skanled project is complex, and challenges remain to be overcome before it can be given a green light,” says Gassco vice president Thor O Lohne.
“These include gas purchases/sales, technical choices and the economics of the associated projects as well as official approval processes in Norwegian, Sweden and Denmark.”
Under the latest contracts, IKM will pursue design activities related to the pipeline system with associated subsea structures, landfalls and receiving/metering stations. Most of this work will be done at IKM Ocean Design AS in Stavanger and Trondheim.
Phase one of the work will last for a year, with options for detailed engineering of the pipeline system. The two contracts are jointly worth some NOK 50 million up to the investment decision.
“The contracts with IKM Gruppen represent an important milestone in the further development of Skanled, and help to strengthen our project organisation,” says Ole Jan Aarvik, Gassco’s project manager.
“These are two strategically important contracts for us, and reinforce IKM Ocean Design’s position as a leading player in the design and delivery of subsea systems and pipelines,” says Ståle Kyllingstad, chief executive of IKM Gruppen.
Gassco AS
Gassco AS is responsible for transporting gas from the Norwegian continental shelf to Europe and the UK. A state-owned limited company, it was established in 2001 and now has just over 300 employees. The company transported 86.7 billion standard cubic metres of gas to the market, or roughly 18 per cent of total European gas consumption. Almost all Norwegian gas is carried through a 7 800-kilometre network of pipelines. Gassco serves as a neutral and independent operator of the transport system on the NCS.
The Skanled companies
Owners:
Skagerak Energi, E.ON Ruhrgas, PGNiG, Energinet.dk, Hafslund, Østfold Energi, Gøteborg Energi, Agder Energi, Swedegas and Preem Petroleum
Users:
Energinet.dk, E.ON Ruhrgas, Gøteborg Energi, Ineos, Perstorp, PGNiG, Preem Petroleum, SIGC (Kemira, Höganäs, Stora Enso, Lunds Energikoncernen, Eka Chemicals, Trelleborg and Pilkington), Skagerak Energi, StatoilHydro and Yara
IKM Group
IKM Gruppen AS is a multidisciplinary sub-contractor to the oil and gas industry. It has growth as a priority – in turnover, profits and the number of services delivered. IKM will continue to create new companies, acquire existing enterprises and forge alliances so that it constantly develops as a quality supplier. The group currently employs 1 800 people and has a budgeted turnover of NOK 2.3 billion for 2008.