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When we carried out the final commissioning, it only took us 20 days from starting the compressors until we reached full power, which is quite extraordinary.

– Richard Crichton,

Project Director at : Shell

Ormen Lange, Shell

Source his collaborative culture was put to its ulti- compressors until we reached full power, which is quite mate test in early 2023, at a test facility on extraordinary," he said.

Horsøy, an island outside Bergen. Here, the engineering team gathered for the frst full-

The Inevitable Challenge

T power run of the Ormen Lange Phase 3 sub-

The Ormen Lange feld, Norway's second-largest gas sea compression system. It was a pivotal moment in the feld, has been a cornerstone of Europe's energy supply for multi-billion-dollar project, the culmination of fve years over two decades. After years of production, however, the of intensive work since the contract was awarded in Oc- natural reservoir pressure was steadily declining, making it tober 2019. A massive 800-tonne compression station, increasingly diffcult to recover the remaining gas volumes. submerged in a test pit, were connected to a simulator This presented Shell, OneSubsea and their partners with designed to mimic the 120-kilometer distance from the a signifcant challenge: how to maximize recovery and ex- onshore gas plant at Nyhamna.

tend the life of a critical deepwater asset.

“The tension level in the room was quite high as we pre-

The mandate from the Norwegian government was es- pared to press the button for the frst time. When we did tablished in the early 2000s, refecting a forward-thinking and nothing happened, the anxiety rose even more,” said approach to resource management. When the feld’s ini-

Mads Hjelmeland, CEO of OneSubsea.

tial Plan for Development and Operation was approved,

That tense moment became emblematic of the Or- it included a specifc condition that the operator must men Lange Phase 3 project. The resolution — diagnos- do everything possible to maximize recovery. “Subsea ing and fxing a software bug — was a testament not just compression was set as a requirement when the time was to world-record engineering, but to a collaborative culture ripe,” Hjelmeland said. When that time came, two main that Hjelmeland believes was essential to the project's out- concepts were evaluated: a conventional foating plat- come. The groundwork laid during that onshore test led form and an advanced subsea compression system. After to a remarkably smooth startup offshore, a success echoed rigorous assessments, Shell and its partners concluded by Shell's Project Director at the Ormen Lange Phase 3 that the subsea option was superior, promising a higher project, Richard Crichton. "When we carried out the fnal recovery rate, greater energy effciency, and a more favor- commissioning, it only took us 20 days from starting the able investment cost.

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