Ocean Installer bags one of its largest-ever contracts
A fast-track EPCI award from Var Energi for the Balder Next New Wells project ranks among the contractor's biggest to date.
Marine construction contractor Ocean Installer, a Moreld subsidiary, has secured a fast-track EPCI contract from Var Energi for the Balder Next New Wells project, supporting continued development of the Balder area in the North Sea.
Under the award, Ocean Installer will carry out all SURF installation work, on top of the procurement of flexible flowlines and risers it was handed in the fourth quarter of 2025. The project forms part of Var Energi's hub strategy for the Balder area, with a first phase covering seven new wells tied back to the Jotun FPSO. First oil is targeted for 2027.
It is the third project contract awarded under the subsea strategic partnership Var Energi and Ocean Installer set up in June 2022, and will be executed in close cooperation with fellow partner OneSubsea, which is supplying the subsea production system.
Moreld classes the award as major — a label it reserves for contracts worth more than NOK 2bn ($202.5m) — making it one of the largest in Ocean Installer's history. Earlier in the week, the contractor announced a separate win from TotalEnergies for decommissioning work on the Byggve, Skirne and Atla fields, satellite tiebacks to the Heimdal hub.
