The Norwegian engineering and construction company Aibel has obtained the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contract for the topside sections of the planned Wisting FPSO in the Barents Sea. This contract was awarded following a competitive tender by Equinor and its partners and includes the development of the topside design before the final investment decision (FID) is made.
Contract Details and Project Team
The contract also includes an option for engineering, procurement, and project management, while the construction of the topside modules will be awarded separately. Aibel announced that around 250 employees in its offices in Åsane, along with personnel in Haugesund, will work on this project. Engineering activities will commence soon and are expected to be completed by the end of 2027. The financial details of this contract have not been disclosed.
Progress and Future of the Wisting Project
In this regard, Trond Bokn, Senior Vice President of Development Projects at Equinor, stated: "We are in the early stages of developing Wisting, and significant work remains to create a profitable and feasible project." The project partners aim to finalize the concept selection by the end of 2026 and decide whether to proceed with the project, with the goal of making a final investment decision in late 2027.
The Wisting project site is located approximately 310 kilometers north of Hammerfest and in water depths of nearly 400 meters. This project is recognized as Norway's largest oil discovery, with recoverable resources estimated at less than 500 million barrels of oil equivalent. The current development concept is based on constructing a new FPSO with onboard power generation using energy-efficient gas turbines, while carbon capture and storage technologies are also under consideration.
Drilling, well, and subsea infrastructure costs are expected to account for about half of the project investment, creating significant opportunities for Norwegian offshore contractors. Equinor, along with Aker BP, Petoro, and Inpex, is involved in the Wisting project. If approved, this field is expected to remain in production for about 30 years.
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