Topside leaves the dry dock

By Trude Meland, Norwegian Petroleum Museum

Despite many challenges, the Statfjord A module support frame (MSF) was eventually completed at Aker’s Stord Verft yard. This work had taken place in its dry dock, but the structure was ready to be mated with the concrete gravity base structure (GBS) on 30 July 1976.

— Statfjord A - Connecting the GBS with the topside. The platform's GBS is lowered to the critical point where the topside, which is built on two boat hulls, is to be placed over the three concrete shafts and then connected by gradually raising the concrete part by pumping out ballast water. Photo: Aker/Norwegian Petroleum Museum

The dock gates were opened and the structure was towed out into the fjord. The GBS was soon also on its way from Stavanger to Stord.

The MSF had been built on two redundant tankers – known as Tom and Tina. When the topside was to be mated with the GBS, the latter was ballasted down until it was almost entirely submerged and the two tankers were manoeuvred between the concrete shafts.

Deballasting the storage cells then raised the GBS, so that the topside could be carefully positioned on and then lifted by the shafts.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Godø, Helge; Plattformutbygging til havs. Rogaland Research 1980, p 45. After this mating operation had taken place on 8 August 1976, work continued out in the Digernessundet sound.

To learn more about why Stord Verft was selected as the fabrication yard, why an integrated topside was chosen instead of the original plan for a modular structure, what working conditions were like and the real reasons for the listings, see the article: Building the Statfjord A topside.