Equinor has initiated procurement processes for key marine and aviation services required for its US$10.3 billion Bay du Nord project offshore Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada. Concurrently, the project's main subsea contractor has launched bid procedures for substantial rock supply and other subsea-related work.

Project Overview

Bay du Nord is located 475 kilometres from St. John's and will be developed via a subsea complex tied back to a floating production, storage and offloading vessel. An initial phase will target the Bay du Nord and Cambriol discoveries through up to 16 wells. BW Offshore is lined up to provide the FPSO, while the Subsea Integration Alliance (SIA) of SLB OneSubsea and Subsea7 will supply subsea equipment in water depths of 600 to 1200 metres. Offshore operations are set to start as early as 2029, with first oil targeted for 2031.

Equinor's Procurement: Vessels and Helicopters

Equinor has released expressions of interest (EoI) for offshore support vessels and helicopter services. Responses are due by 13 March.

Vessels: The company requires up to five offshore support vessels for logistics, marine operations, and subsea activities. These can be platform supply vessels or anchor handlers, with one vessel specifically required to conduct subsea inspection, maintenance and repair operations. Key requirements include:

• Transporting personnel on an ad-hoc basis with a minimum of 26 passenger berths.
• Supporting ice management duties, including monitoring, reporting, and towing threatening icebergs.
• Being capable of transiting pack ice.

Helicopters: The successful bidder must provide full passenger handling services at a main operating base and offer search and rescue and Medevac capabilities. The contract also requires maintaining a back-up SAR aircraft (or an aircraft convertible to SAR) for continuous emergency coverage and providing an alternative landing site in St. John's for use during adverse weather.

SIA's Procurement: Rock Supply and Subsea Works

The Subsea Integration Alliance (SIA) has issued several EoIs for materials and services critical to the subsea installation.

Rock Material Supply: An EoI, with responses due 12 March, covers the supply of 450,000 tonnes of specialist rock. The rock is needed to keep subsea hardware in position and protect it from damage. The supply schedule is:

1. Approximately 240,000 tonnes required in Q2 and Q3 of 2028.
2. A further 210,000 tonnes required two years later, in 2030.

The material must be chemically stable for the project's 30-year design life and be well-graded igneous rock (or similar) with no significant iron or unwanted content. The quarry must have direct ocean access and a quayside capable of supporting stockpiling and loading rock onto a subsea installation vessel.

Protection Structures: Another EoI, with responses due 3 March, involves the design and fabrication of about 124 permanent subsea protection structures made from glass fibre reinforced plastic. The largest structure will measure 26 metres long, 24 metres wide, and six metres high. Bidders must have proven access to relevant personnel between Q1 2027 and Q4 2031.

Pre-commissioning Services: SIA is also seeking a company to provide pre-commissioning services for the subsea flowlines, based on offshore installation campaigns between 2029 and