Jubilation at LMI for the biggest contract ever!
The major contract of our time: - A moon landing for our industry.
This is the biggest contract I've ever received, so it's really nice.
-This is according to Geir Øren, general manager of Luster Mekaniske Industri (LMI). The contract is with OneSubsea on the Ormen Lange field where Shell is the operator and end customer.
Happy message
The employees celebrated with cake when they received the message.
- There was a huge cheer, they've been completely over the moon. And they have reason to be. We're proud of what we're achieving. Now we're looking far into the future. This is the biggest and most prestigious project for us. And technologically speaking, this is a moon landing for our industry," says Øren.
The value of the contract in NOK is not yet clear.
Pipe system
Ormen Lange is the second largest gas field in Norway, and is located at a depth of between 850 and 1100 meters.
- "No other Norwegian field produces from such deep water, under such harsh conditions and with such advanced equipment," says Øren.
The field is located 140 kilometers northwest of Kristiansund. LMI will supply the piping system for a Subsea wet gas compressor system, which will help to increase the pressure in the well and thus bring up more gas.
Tens of thousands of hours
The contract corresponds to around 70,000 working hours for LMI in Gaupne, and the project alone will employ most of the workforce for two years from start-up.
- This shows that LMI delivers high quality, and is thanks to very skilled and committed employees," says Øren.
The project will start in the fall of 2020, and will be delivered in 2022. Around 30 people at LMI will be busy with this project during these years.
Several major projects
This latest new contract is the icing on the cake for the team at Gaupnegrandane in Luster. They already have a major project for Equinor in the North Sea on the Vigdis field, which will be completed in January next year.
- We have two other major projects underway for Chevron. In November/December, we will start work on a project called Jack & St. Malo, which will be delivered to the Gulf of Mexico in the fall of 2020.
The second major project for Chevron is called Anchor, and will be delivered in 2021.
- So we have three major projects going ahead in addition to what we got now at Ormen Lange. So we're in the wind, and that's great.
Full order books
In addition, Øren can tell us about several huge bids for new contracts that will be awarded during 2020.
- At LMI, we are very confident that we can be awarded some of these as well. In any case, we have almost full order books for the next three years, and we are very optimistic about the future of the subsea market beyond these three years.
Need more people
Øren has previously said that they are having difficulty finding enough people. "These new orders increase the pressure to acquire qualified labor.
- We see challenges in recruiting more skilled workers in the short term. Until 2017, we had an excellent agreement with Sogndal Vidaregåande Skule, where we placed students and thus had good recruitment for new apprenticeship contracts. After the line was closed down, it has been difficult to find apprentices who want to become industrial plumbers and welders.
Political challenge
He wants to challenge the county politicians on the issue.
- "Apprentices from the school used to be a success factor for us. And I challenge both politicians and the school authorities to get to grips with this so that the line can start up again in Sogndal," says Øren.
Source: Sogn Avis November 05, 2019
Photo: OneSubsea