Aasta Hansteen The Gas Giant

At a depth of nearly 1,300 metres, Aasta Hansteen is the deepest field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

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Wintershall Dea Offshore Platform Aasta Hansteen
Wintershall Dea Offshore Platform Aasta Hansteen
Credit
Equinor/Bjørn Ivo Krokeide

The Aasta Hansteen gas field is located in the Norwegian Sea about 300 kilometres west of Bodø. Set at a depth of nearly 1,300 metres, Aasta Hansteen is the deepest field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The Equinor-operated field has been developed with a spar platform (a floater consisting of a topside platform mounted on a vertical cylindrical hull, anchored to the seabed) and four subsea templates. The spar platform weighs 70,000 tonnes, making it the largest in the world.

Wintershall Dea Quickfact Aasta Hansteen Norway
Wintershall Dea Quickfact Aasta Hansteen Norway
Wintershall Dea Offshore Platform Aasta Hansteen
Wintershall Dea Offshore Platform Aasta Hansteen

The Aasta Hansteen spar platform is the largest in the world.

Credit
Equinor/Henning Selstad

Area gas hub

Aasta Hansteen started producing in December 2018. It is designed as a hub for the Vøring Basin area of the Norwegian Sea. The area is rich in gas, and discoveries can tie into the Aasta Hansteen facility. Wintershall Dea’s Balderbrå discovery is located in the area, as well as a number of promising exploration licenses.

Gas export via Polarled

Polarled is a 482-kilometres-long gas pipeline that connects Aasta Hansteen to the Nyhamna gas processing facility in Møre og Romsdal county in northwestern Norway. In the future, other fields will be connected to this infrastructure. The pipeline is the first subsea pipeline to cross the Arctic Circle.

Wintershall Dea Polarled Pipeline Coast
Wintershall Dea Polarled Pipeline Coast

The Polarled pipeline brings gas to the Norwegian mainland.

Credit
Wintershall Dea

We see Aasta Hansteen and Polarled as a major part of our commitment to serve the European gas market.

Synnøve Helland
Vice President Non-Operated Assets of Wintershall Dea in Norway

Major Norwegian Investment

The Aasta Hansteen development costs around 37.5 billion NOK (2018 value) and generated some 32 million man-hours of work.