Norway’s Equinor has awarded Aibel a major contract for the Hammerfest LNG modifications for the Snøhvit Future project. Aibel has been awarded the EPCI (engineering, procurement, construction and installation) contract which includes the construction of two new process modules related to compression and onshore electrification of the Melkøya plant. The contract is also subject to government approval of the project.
Equinor places its trust in Aibel
A FEED (front-end engineering and design) contract was awarded to Aibel in September 2020. This new award demonstrates Equinor’s confidence in Aibel for production plant modification work.
Mette H. Ottøy, Equinor’s Purchasing Manager, pointed out that Aibel has been one of the main suppliers to Hammerfest LNG since the plant’s start-up in 2007. She also said the contract would have major ripple effects locally, regionally and nationally.
Significant spillover effects
The Snøhvit Future project is the largest project at Melkøya since the plant was commissioned. It consists of the compression and electrification of the Hammerfest LNG line in Melkøya. The project will extend the production plateau and ensure high gas exports, jobs and spillover effects also after 2030, while reducing the plant’s CO2 emissions by 850,000 tons per year.
Engineering and design work will begin immediately, and Aibel will also make upgrades to existing systems at Hammerfest LNG to make the plant more resilient for an extended life through 2050.
The Norwegian parliament has decided to reduce Norwegian emissions by 55% by 2030. In this respect, the project will reduce CO2 emissions from the Hammerfest plant by 2% of Norway’s total emissions. The project will also create significant spillover effects, with about 70% of the value creation going to Norwegian companies and more than one third of it to northern Norway.
Important and complex works
Aibel will make significant and complex modifications to Hammerfest LNG, build larger modules on their yards and most of the work will be done during the period 2024-2026. This year and next, Aibel will award several major contracts to its subcontractors for work at the plant and facilitate the use of local suppliers in several phases of the project, including construction.
In terms of employment, the project is expected to generate approximately 1,680 person-years regionally over the life of the project and 5,400 person-years nationally.
