Canadian oil company Husky Energy has selected Dutch offshore and dredging services specialist Van Oord to do offshore installation works at the West White Rose development Project of the east coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

The West White Rose Project, sanctioned in May 2017, will be developed using a concrete gravity structure-type of a fixed platform tied back to the SeaRose floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The platform, which has received regulatory approval, will enable the company to maximize resource recovery, Husky has said. The first oil is expected in 2022.

As for Van Oord, its work scope is broken into four phases: seabed preparation, ballasting activities, flowline protection, and scour protection.

Van Oord said on Thursday it would deploy its flexible fallpipe vessels Nordnes and Stornes to carry out the work.

Before positioning the CGS, a seabed preparation layer will be installed. As part of the preparations for tow- out of the CGS, the flexible fallpipe vessels will offload ballasting material directly into the CGS compartments. After installation of the CGS, Van Oord will install scour and flowline protection around the CGS and the flowlines.

Husky has previously awarded a contract for the construction of the CGS to a general partnership between SNC-Lavalin, Dragados Canada, and Pennecon. Norway's Kvaerner will perform engineering, analysis, planning, and execution of marine operations related to tow and installation of the CGS. At its final location offshore on the Grand Banks, Kvaerner will be responsible for installing the concrete gravity structure on the seabed.

The CGS will have an overall height of 145m, a base diameter of 122m and will require 76,000 m3 of concrete in its construction.