Norwegian oil firm Statoil has awarded contracts to five separate ship owners. The award by Statoil covers seven supply vessels at a total contract value of NOK 3.1 billion (USD 370 million), including options.
All vessels will be equipped with hybrid battery operation, and the possibility of shore power connection.
“We look forward to a long-term cooperation with the chosen ship owners. The contracts will bring predictability to both the ship owners and Statoil, and will allow us to focus on optimising our operations to continuously improve operation, safety and energy efficiency,” says Philippe F. Mathieu, senior vice president for joint operations support in Statoil.
The vessels chosen have good technical specifications adapted to Statoil’s logistics operations. The seven supply vessels will operate from the supply bases at Mongstad, Dusavik, Florø and Kristiansund.
“The bidding process has attracted high attention, and we have received bids for around 50 vessels from many competent and highly qualified ship owners. We require the crew on all vessels to speak one of the Scandinavian languages,” says Mathieu.
Four of the contracts have a duration of five years, plus five one-year extension options. Three of the contracts have a duration of three years, plus three one-year extension options.
Including its current vessels, Statoil has 16 supply vessels on long-term contract with 10 different ship owners. Statoil already has two battery-operated vessels on contract.