This hybridisation project is located in the British sector of the North Sea, 220 km east of Aberdeen (Scotland), with the aim of contributing to the decarbonisation of gas production at the Culzean offshore platform.
The project will feature a single floating wind turbine with a capacity of 3MW. This will cover approximately 20 per cent of the platform’s total energy demand for its natural gas and condensate extraction operations, which supply approximately 5 per cent of Great Britain’s gas requirements.
For this innovative project, Sarens has utilised its LR12500 1.0 crane (also known as the “Strong Steve”), which was already stationed at Wergeland Base in Gulen; this has significantly reduced the logistical footprint and greatly improved the project’s cost efficiency.
Sarens, world leader in heavy lifting, engineered transport and crane rental services, has played a key role in the development of the Culzean Floating Wind Project, with the assembly and load-out of a floating wind turbine foundation having been carried out in Gulen, Norway. For this project, Sarens’ engineering team, acting on behalf of Wergeland Base and Archer Wind, has been responsible for a wide range of tasks, from the early engineering phase to determining lifting points, defining lifting methods and providing all the necessary rigging – including the SarSpin device to ensure the perfect levelling of all components.
This hybrid project, led by TotalEnergies and currently being developed by NEO NEXT, is located in the British sector of the North Sea, approximately 220 km east of Aberdeen in Scotland, and its main objective will be to help decarbonise gas production at the Culzean offshore platform. To this end, it will feature a single Vestas V112 floating wind turbine with a power generation capacity of 3 MW, which will enable it to meet approximately 20 per cent of the platform’s total energy demand.
Sarens has been appointed to lead the heavy-lifting operations thanks to its ability to offer the best available single-crane solution on the market, the LR12500 1.0 model (also known as the “Strong Steve”), which was already at Wergeland Base having recently completed a decommissioning project there. This has enabled Sarens to drastically reduce its logistical footprint – as there was no need to deploy dozens of lorries to transport the crane to the project site – to significantly improve cost efficiency, and to make the necessary machinery available to its client immediately for the project’s implementation.
For this project, Sarens has taken responsibility for early-stage engineering consultation, complete lifting method statements, rigging design and equipment supply, and on-site execution by a highly experienced team. The key components lifted included the structure’s outer columns, weighing around 150 tons; the central columns, weighing 160 tons; and the frames, weighing 90 tons.
According to Willem Ditmer, Sarens Senior Project Manager, “The heavy-lifting tasks we have carried out for this project have required high-precision slewing and crawling. By enabling the safe assembly and load-out of this floating wind turbine foundation, Sarens has directly contributed to providing the Culzean gas extraction plant with a clean and renewable energy source. We would like to thank Wergeland Base and Archer Wind for their collaboration, which has ensured that all the work carried out at Wergeland Base has been completed safely, efficiently and in strict accordance with the established schedule.”
The Culzean gas production plant is considered to be of strategic importance to the British energy sector. Commissioned in June 2019, this plant is designed to produce 15M standard cubic metres per day (scm/d) of natural gas and condensate, which covers approximately 5 per cent of Great Britain’s gas supply needs. Until the new wind turbine comes online, scheduled for the final quarter of 2026, the energy required to operate the plant is obtained by flaring some of the extracted gas in on-site turbines, which results in a significant environmental footprint.
Sarens has a strong international track record in the offshore wind sector, having successfully carried out port logistics, assembly and loading of critical components at pioneering wind farms such as Provence Grand Large (France’s first floating pilot project), Fécamp, Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Brieuc, as well as the management and specialised maintenance of floating wind turbines at Hywind Scotland, thereby consolidating its technical capability to safely handle megastructures and foundations weighing up to 5,000 tonnes in the world’s most demanding port environments.
About Sarens
Sarens is the global leader and reference in crane rental, heavy lift and engineered transportation services. With state-of-the-art equipment, value engineering, one of the world's largest inventories of cranes, transporters and special rigging equipment, Sarens offers creative and intelligent solutions to today's heavy lifting and engineering transport challenges.
With more than 100 entities in 70 countries operating without borders, Sarens is an ideal partner for small to large-scale projects. Sarens currently employs 6,500 highly qualified professionals who are ready to serve the needs of any client worldwide and in all market sectors. https://www.sarens.com/