Glamox wins smart lighting contracts for new hi-tech North Sea oil and gas platforms

Glamox announced contracts to provide around 5,000 energy-efficient marine LED lights for new oil and gas platforms being built for the Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP-Fenris developments in the North Sea. The contracts include around 4,000 connected lights for remotely operated production platforms in the Yggdrasil area, which Glamox believes to be the world’s first offshore platforms to use smart, remotely controlled interior and exterior explosion-proof lighting.

Yggdrasil is the biggest ongoing development on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, located between Alvheim and Oseberg in the North Sea. It comprises the Hugin, Fulla, and Munin licence groups, and its oil and gas resources are estimated at around 650 million barrels of oil equivalent. Aker BP is the operator with Equinor and Orlen Upstream Norway as licence partners. Production is due to start in 2027.

Glamox received a contract from Aker Solutions, a partner in the Fixed Facilities Alliance, to provide a lighting package for the interior and exterior of the area centre Hugin A processing platform, which includes living quarters. Hugin A is planned to be periodically unmanned after some years of production. Most of the interior and exterior luminaires, including floodlights, are connected so that they can be switched on and off and dimmed locally or remotely using a light management system. Connected Glamox luminaires and floodlights will also be provided for Hugin B, a normally unmanned wellhead platform. Under a separate contract with Aibel, Glamox will provide the same smart lighting for the Munin unmanned production platform in the northern part of the Yggdrasil area.

The future is connected

“Lighting is crucial for remote operations. Indoor lights are necessary even on the unmanned platforms as they are visited by inspection and maintenance teams. Also, there are cameras on the platform, so if we detect a problem, we can activate the lights, including floodlights, from the Yggdrasil shore-based control center to take a better look,” explained Nicholas Dvorani, Package Responsible Buyer at the Fixed Facilities Alliance. “The marine certified luminaires and floodlights from Glamox are explosion proof and can cope with the harshest conditions the North Sea can throw at them.”

“In the future, more offshore energy production, whether it’s hydrocarbon or renewable, will be unmanned or largely automated. It’s therefore imperative that platform lighting is connected, has a long life, and is reliable, working when and where it is needed. Also, the quality of the LED light must be of a high standard for use with cameras. The future isn’t just bright, it’s smart,” said Astrid Simonsen Joos, Group CEO of Glamox.

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Valhall PWP-Fenris

Aker Solutions, through the Fixed Facilities Alliance, also awarded a contract to Glamox to provide 225 floodlights for the Valhall PWP-Fenris platforms which are in the southern part of the North Sea with reserves estimated at 230 million barrels of oil equivalent. Production is due to start in 2027.