Thursday 9 November 2017

Statoil unveils first platform to be remote operated from land

Statoil has announced its first platform in Norway to be remote-controlled from land.

The oil and gas giant said it plans to operate many of its other small to medium sizes rigs in the future remotely if the Valemon control room, which will control the Valemon platform, in Bergen is a success.

Gunnar Nakken, Head of Operations West Cluster said the project is a “vital milestone” for the company.

He added: “We have had land-based surveillance and control of offshore operations for a long time, however the remote control of Valemon marks one important step forward on our digitalisation journey.

“Most of our production will still be carried out on large, manned platforms, such as Aasta Hansteen and the Johan Sverdrup platform but for somewhat smaller platforms and fields it will absolutely be considered. First, we must gain experience from Valemon.”