Mammoet has secured its largest-ever contract for the 21 billion dollars Arctic LNG 2 project in northern Russia. It will see the heavy-lift specialist lift 42 modules with a combined weight of more than half a million tonnes within a four-year timeframe.

The contract was awarded by the Technip-led joint venture NovArctic in cooperation with Saipem and NIPIgas. Over the course of four years, Mammoet will install 42 large modules onto three concrete gravity-based structures (GBS) in Murmansk.

The 42 modules will weigh between 8,000 and 17,000 tonnes each and have a combined weight of more than 500,000 tonnes. The project will require around 2,000 SPMT axles, several Mega Jack lifting systems, a crane fleet spearheaded by a CC8800-1 crane and around 120 workers at peak times. This makes it the largest-ever contract in Mammoet’s history.

The lifting operations will take place at a purpose-built shipyard in Belokamenka near Murmansk, where Mammoet has to ensure a continuous installation of the modules onto the concrete structures. In addition to this contract, Mammoet has also been selected for the unloading services at the module fabrication yard, Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Offshore Engineering in China, which is a joint venture between McDermott and CSIC Wuchuan.

Arctic LNG 2

Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 project will produce natural gas from the Utrenneye field and is located 70 kilometres away from Yamal LNG for which Mammoet transported 142 modules and managed an intermediate storage yard in Zeebrugge.

The Arctic LNG 2 project includes the construction of three LNG trains with a capacity of 6.6 million tonnes of LNG per annum (mtpa) each and another 1.6 mtpa of stable gas condensate.

To lower the cost of the natural gas, the LNG trains will be built on top of three concrete gravity-based structures which will be held in position by their weight. TechnipFMC has been awarded the EPC contract for the three massive structures which has a value of 7.6 billion dollars. The LNG trains will be built at the Offshore Superfacility Construction Center in Belokamenka.

The Utrenneye field is estimated to hold 1,978 billion cubic metres of natural gas reserves. According to main shareholder Novatek (60%), the total investment for the Arctic LNG 2 project amounts to 21.3 billion dollars. Other investors are Total, CNPC, CNOOC and a consortium of Mitsui and Jogmec, which each hold 10%.