Supply base at Sotra

Norwegian Petroleum Museum

A permanent supply base was required to develop and operate Statfjord, with storage space and quays for shipping out everything from construction components, pipe and drilling fluid to provisions for the offshore workforce.

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The Coast Center Base (CCB) at Ågotnes in the island of Sotra outside Bergen was officially opened in September 1974 by local owners. Operator Mobil was the first company to sign a contract to use this facility, which was chosen for its location a mere 10 hours sailing from Statfjord. But construction of the base had begun as early as the year before, and Mobil had used it then in connection with exploration drilling in production licence 037 during the autumn of 1973.

In addition to a short sailing time to the field, the site offered good harbour conditions and was also strategically placed in relation to Bergen and Flesland airport. Brown & Root, the main contractor for building the Statfjord A platform, also opened a branch office at Ågotnes. Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk (KV) followed suit in August 1974 in order to build up a workshop and operations service business for Statfjord, and thereby boost Norwegian expertise.

CCB was founded by A/S H Namtvedt and the Stolt-Nielsen shipping company. The latter accepted financial responsibility for initiating the project, and site work began on 9 April 1973. Although Stolt-Nielsen had been the driving force behind the project, it sold out in the spring of 1975. Statoil then acquired a 50 per cent holding with Vesta Hygea and Bergen as the other shareholders.

Sources:
Aftenposten 4. desember 1973. Mobil skal bruke CCB-basen.
Mobil Explorer desember 1981: CCB på Sotra- forsyningsbase for Statfjordfeltet.
Skreien, N. (2007). Namtvedt : Et liv på topp og bunn. Eide: 186-197.