In February, K2JV, a joint venture between KBR and Kvaerner, completed construction on the Johan Sverdrup utilities and living quarters topsides (ULQ) project for Equinor, formerly known as Statoil. This project forms one of four platforms in the Norwegian North Sea, part of the first phase of the Johan Sverdrup oil field development.

This project is the largest permanent living quarters in the North Sea, spanning over 10 levels, with 560 beds in 450 cabins; nine free-fall lifeboats; space for three helicopters; and recreational facilities, workshops and offices.

Given the project’s 50-year design life, the team paid close attention to the materials and coating systems chosen to minimize any future repair and maintenance and to achieve all the project’s stringent noise and vibration requirements.

The ULQ is divided into two parts, consisting of a Utilities Module (UM) supporting an Accommodation Module (AM) above. It’s also the first field development to be designed for a single-lift installation using the Pioneering Spirit installation vessel­, the team noted.

The team decided to prefabricate large units in Poland and then assemble them at Stord, instead of having the complete UM prefabricated and assembled together with the AM in Poland. This helped the team maintain the project’s schedule.

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