The giant serpent Ormen Lange, managing the new key provider of natural gas to Europe from beneath the deep waters of the Norwegian Sea

摘要

Ormen Lange is the name of the second-largest Norwegian gas field and was discovered and identified by Hydro in 1997. The Ormen Lange field comprises four key project features: The offshore subsea solution, approximately 100 km off the northwest coast of Norway, with templates, manifolds and pipelines; the onshore process and gas export facilities at Nyhamna, on the coast of M?re and Romsdal County; the gas export transportation system between Norway and the UK, through a tie-in to the Sleipner field installation as a distribution connector; and the Easington gas reception terminal in the UK. The Ormen Lange field development project is of vital importance, not only to its owners, but also to Norway – making the country the third-biggest exporter of natural gas worldwide. On December 4, 2003, a plan for development and operation (PDO) was submitted to the Norwegian authorities, to embark on the project’s execution phase. The project has been subjected to extraordinary, and in particular technical and commercial challenges which have required the development of and a focus on new management systems and systematic work processes. This paper provides an introduction to the elements that collectively represent the entire Ormen Lange field development, including the key technical and commercial challenges, as well as the management strategy, utilizing systematic work processes to achieve alignment and efficient progress while preserving the environment, personal health and assets.