On Thursday 26 March, Allseas’ pipelay vessel Solitaire commenced operations on the first stage of the Polarled pipeline project. The 482-kilometer pipeline will eventually be operated by Gassco and transport natural gas on the seafloor at water depths of up to 1265 meters from the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea south to Nyhamna in western Norway.

Statoil notes this 36 inch diameter, concrete coated pipeline will be the largest diameter pipeline ever installed at such water depths and will also be the first to bring Norwegian gas infrastructure across the Arctic circle.

“When the pipeline is laid, we will install an end manifold with connection points for Aasta Hansteen and any future fields. Six T-joints on the pipeline for any further connections are also a unique feature of Polarled,” says Alfred Øijord, PRO’s project manager for Polarled.

Statoil anticipates completion of the pipe-laying operation at the end of August this year with first gas flow planned for 2017.

How does the Solitaire work?  The following video produced by the Smithsonian provides insight:

The Aasta Hansteen field development project is one of the largest and most complex industrial projects in Europe, and the first deepwater project in the Norwegian Sea.  Read more about it HERE.