Floating wind is being sized up for a maiden outing as a replacement power source for offshore oil and gas production, with Norwegian energy giant Equinor fine-tuning the idea of using an 88MW array of its Hywind units on the Gullfaks and Snorre fields in the North Sea.
The NKr5bn ($601m) Hywind Tampen project, a final investment decision (FID) for which will be taken next year, would cover for 35% of the annual energy demand of five of the area’s gas-turbine-powered platforms, a reduction of CO2 emissions of more than 200,000 tonnes per year.
