When Norwegian energy giant Statoil decided to enter the LNG transport market, the company stipulated stringent health, safety and environment requirements for its fleet of new LNG vessels. Designed to have a lifetime of at least 25 years, sailing in some of the world's roughest seas, and operated by specially trained highly skilled crews, these vessels represent Statoil's commitment to excellence.

Statoil has stipulated extremely stringent safety and regularity requirements. The fact that the new ships' spherical tanks are painted orange is an important safety measure, especially because there is limited light so far north during the winter months.

Trygve Egge (left) and Steinar Thomassen says: "Statoil and DNV have always collaborated in a positive way. The offshore loading tankers were developed using expertise from both companies, and the new LNG vessels will also be DNV classed."

Norway's state-owned oil company, Statoil, produces more oil and gas and operates more fields on the exposed Norwegian continental shelf than any other company. The 25th anniversary of one of Norway's most productive oil fields, Statfjord, is being celebrated this year. There is no doubt that Statoil passed this test with flying colours - more than four billion barrels of oil have been extracted from the reservoirs so far.

First in the Barents Sea
In 1979, Statoil took its qualifying test as an operator of the marine transportation of crude oil from the Statfjord field. Today, the company is taking another qualifying test. The development of the Snohvit field, located at 71 degrees north, is the first development in the Barents Sea. It is the first development where natural gas will be cooled to liquid in Norway and also in Europe. The fact that Statoil itself will play an active role in the LNG transport is also new.

"When transporting the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), we will utilise the experience we've gained from Statfjord, among other places," explains Trygve Egge, the shipbuilding engineer responsible for the transport from Snohvit. "The company's original idea 25 years ago was for offshore loading tankers to carry oil to land during a transitional period, while waiting for a pipeline to be built in the future. However, the transitional period ended up being permanent, since the use of ships for transport was both safe and reliable. The technology for operation in harsh environmental conditions became standardised after a while, and the preparations for shipping from Snohvit are based on these standards."

As the owner of the Navion shipping company, Statoil was a major player in crude-oil freight for a long time. It built an extensive fleet of offshore loaders to transport the oil from the North Sea fields. Although Navion has now been sold, Statoil is still benefiting from the experience and knowledge it developed in this company and through this type of transport.

Thoroughly analysed
Egge notes that the harsh conditions in the region present significant challenges. "The offshore loaders in the North Sea are subject to extensive strains as a result of the tough weather conditions," he says. "Vessels are exposed to complex stresses and to fatigue. The same will be true for the new LNG ships that are to transport liquefied gas from the far north of Norway. For this reason, their hulls have been thoroughly analysed at the design stage. These new ships have approximately five per cent more steel in their hulls than comparable vessels do. We've also made use of the experience we've gained from our floating platforms - for example, we dress exposed welds for additional strength."

Statoil expects to be able to start using ships that can tackle the tough conditions in the North Atlantic for at least 25 years, and for these ships to sail on schedule even in the tough winter season.

"By making stringent demands on the ships themselves, on the yards that build them and on the operators that are going to operate them, our goal is to achieve a high level of regularity," says Steinar Thomassen, Statoil's LNG shipping manager. "Our customers are dependent on receiving their cargoes on time. Regularity means everything to us."

Both Thomassen and Egge note that this effort has been pioneering work for Statoil. "We've applied our offshore culture, in which health, the environment and safety have always been given top priority. This has been the basis of our cooperation with all those involved, not least the shipping companies with which we work closely. Norwegian shipping company Hoegh and Japan's K- Line will train their crews specifically during the period before the trades start. Statoil has clearly signalled a preference for Norwegian officers on board. The seaward approach to the island of Melkoya outside Hammerfest, where there is no sun for two whole months in the middle of winter, is challenging."

Building a fleet
To manage such difficult passages, Statoil has arranged for a fleet of three tugs with a separate escort vessel to be ready by the time the first cargo is to be shipped out, probably in the autumn of 2006. New electronic maps over the area have been prepared and lighthouses and lights are being updated.

A total of 70 LNG cargoes will be shipped out from the new facility each year. Fifty of these will mainly be owned by Statoil. Together with K- Line and Hoegh, the company is now building three new LNG ships. These ships will then carry LNG to Cove Point on the USA's north-eastern coast and to Bilbao in Spain. A fourth ship is being built by Hoegh for French Total.

A lot of work remains to be carried out on the shore-based facility at Melkoya and on the four ships that are being built at yards in Japan. However, the start of this trade will fit in well with Statoil's entry into this market. "We clearly feel that this will be an important stepping stone for us in the north," says Steinar Thomassen.