Saipem, the Italian oilfield services giant, has successfully completed the installation of an approximately 80-kilometer pipeline connecting the Aasta Hansteen platform to Equinor’s new Irpa subsea tie-back field, marking a significant milestone in Norway's offshore energy landscape.

Previously known as Asterix, the Irpa field is situated at a depth of 1,350 meters, making it the deepest field development on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), featuring a 20-inch "pipe in pipe" system. 

Equinor stated in a social media post that the pipeline was laid at an average speed of 1.3 kilometers per day and completed on July 22, after 84 days of operations. The project had considerable logistical implications for Sandnessjøen, Norway, where the ASCO base served as a crucial hub. 

Line pipe and associated equipment were delivered, offloaded, stored, and then loaded onto pipe support vessels that shuttled supplies to Saipem’s pipelaying vessel, the Castorone.

Located 340 kilometers offshore Bodø, the Irpa field boasts estimated recoverable gas reserves of nearly 20 billion standard cubic meters. 

This new development is projected to extend the operational life of the Aasta Hansteen platform, the world's largest spar platform and the first on the NCS, by seven years, pushing its lifespan from 2032 to 2039. It is also expected to bolster gas supplies to Europe significantly.

Prior to the pipeline completion, Norwegian ocean services provider DeepOcean finished installing a foundation template structure (FTS) at the Irpa field in June. Equinor had contracted a consortium comprising Subsea7 and DeepOcean in 2023 for the Irpa and Verdande field development projects in the Norwegian Sea.