Type:
Oil
Facility:
Production
Water Depth:
127
Installed:
2001
meters
Block:
46351
Design:
Floating steel
Sub Structure:
0
Topsides Wgt:
33930
tonnes
tonnes
Intro
Floating Production Unit (FPU) at the Balder field in the Norwegian North Sea, originally commissioned with subsea wells tied back. It serves production and export functions, complemented by the newer Jotun FPSO host installed in 2025.
Field
Balder Field – Oil field discovered in 1967 in the central North Sea, developed with subsea wells tied to Balder FPU and Ringhorne facilities. Reservoirs in Jurassic, Paleocene and Eocene sandstones. Production began in 1999; infrastructure evolved with Balder X and the Jotun FPSO.
Facilities
The Balder FPU facilitates subsea production from multiple wells tied back, with onboard production separators, water and gas handling systems, and power generation. The unit historically accommodated processing for crude and gas, routing stabilized crude to shuttle tankers and exporting gas via the Statpipe system to Kårstø and onward markets. With the commissioning of the Jotun FPSO in 2025, Balder FPU’s role transitions within the Balder X development; FPSO assumes primary production and storage/export functions while the FPU supports tie-ins and utility support as needed. Wellstreams are separated on the FPU, with produced water handling and gas compression for export or reinjection. Utilities include gas turbine generation, produced-water processing, fire and safety systems, chemical injection, and control systems integrated with the Balder area infrastructure. Subsea manifolds and flowlines connect Balder and Ringhorne templates to the FPU and FPSO. Export routes included tanker loading and pipeline routes for gas; structural features include riser support, accommodation modules, and permanent moorings for the floating structure.
Similar Platforms
SUBMIT YOUR STORIES AND PHOTOS
RigOil is built on the stories of the people who lived and worked offshore. If you have photos or memories from life on a North Sea platform, we’d love to include them in the archive.
Upload your photos and help preserve this shared history.*
*By submitting content, you confirm you have the right to share it and grant RigOil a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use the material for editorial, promotional, and commercial purposes. Copyright remains with the contributor.