Statoil has awarded Harding, a provider of marine life-saving systems, a contract for delivery of the nine free-fall lifeboats needed for phase one of the Johan Sverdrup development, located in the North Sea.

The Johan Sverdrup field, located 155km west of Stavanger, is the largest oil discovery on the Norwegian continental shelf since the 1980s.

The contract, signed July 14, comprises nine FF1200- lifeboats, with nine corresponding LA 1200 SU davits. According to Harding, the nine lifesaving systems will be delivered during 2017, and will then be installed on the living quarters platform for Johan Sverdrup.

Both the lifeboats and the davit system have been developed by Harding in Norway. While the lifeboats will also be built in Norway, the davits will be assembled at one of Harding’s overseas locations.

Styrk Bekkenes, Harding CEO, said: “This order is a solid validation of the quality of our products, the competency and commitment demonstrated by all our employees, and the effects of the significant restructuring which we have implemented in order to strengthen our competitive edge in a tough market.

“The Johan Sverdrup delivery has been one of the few big contracts for new oil and gas developments in Norway, for which we have been able to compete lately, and we have been through an extremely tough and demanding tender process, characterised by a sharp focus on costs and technical solutions. By having the winning tender, we are demonstrating that Harding can deliver quality on time at the right price, even during difficult times,” says Bekkenes.

Harding CEO admits that Harding has, too, felt the consequences of the fall in oil price and reduced levels of investments in the oil and gas industry.

“We have met this challenge with a comprehensive restructuring process, in which we have worked on reducing costs in order to maintain our competitive edge. The Johan Sverdrup delivery demonstrates that, to a great extent, we have succeeded with this work,” believes Bekkenes.

Bekkenes added that it is important for Harding to be a part of Statoil’s future developments on the Norwegian shelf.

“This first delivery to Johan Sverdrup plays a part in positioning Harding for new phases in this field, as well as a possible development of the Johan Castberg field”, he concludes.

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com

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