Statoil to Conclude Polarled Pipeline with 32% Savings

Norway’s Statoil laid the final pipe in the Polarled Pipeline at the Aasta Hansteen field at a depth of 1,260 metres in the Norwegian Sea, saying that the 482.4 kilometre long Polarled is the first pipeline on the Norwegian continental shelf that crosses the Arctic Circle and opens up a brand new highway for gas from the Norwegian Sea to Europe. 

Statoil also said that it is concluding the project with a 32% saving on the initial investment levels. 

“We are delivering Polarled under budget. The original investment budget for the pipeline project was NOK 11.1 billion. We now expect an investment level of around NOK 7.5 billion. This is due to good planning, good market knowledge and good execution - and the fact that we could combine several large projects when we went to the market and negotiated for pipes and vessels” Torger Rød, head of projects in Statoil, commented in a note.

According to the Norwegian company, the pipeline’s capacity will be up to 70 million standard cubic metres of gas per day. At the beginning, it will only transport gas from Aasta Hansteen, but it will increase the attractiveness of the area for new exploration projects.

"With this pipeline, we open up for the export of gas to Europe from a completely new area, and with the infrastructure in place it will also be more attractive to explore the area," Håkon Ivarjord, project director for the Polarled development project, said, explaining that Statoil installed six connection points.