Norwegian Offshore Wind Newcomer In Partnership Talks for Scottish Offshore Wind-O&G Electrification Auction

Havfram is in early talks with a partner(s) for the Scottish Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) offshore wind seabed leasing round, according to the company’s press release from 2 March.

Six months ago, Crown Estate Scotland announced it would organise a specific leasing round prioritising oil and gas asset electrification. The auction is currently expected to be launched in June.

Havfram, which changed its name from Ocean Installer as part of its focus on offshore wind in December 2020, is one of the first companies to reveal potential participation in this upcoming leasing round in Scotland.

“As we are in early phase discussions with potential partners we are not yet in a position to say anything further on that”, Emilie Reeve, Havfram’s Executive Vice President, Offshore Wind Development, told offshoreWIND.biz in a statement.

“However, we see INTOG as strategically important to the future of the global electrification market for two reasons: One, it is the worlds first leasing process specifically targeted at electrification of O&G facilities, demonstrating a notable move to seek alternative ways of decarbonizing heavy industry which we predict, other governments will seek to follow suit. Two, it sets a framework which other government can use and learn from to support their carbon reduction targets and support their energy transition”, Emilie Reeve said.

In the Scottish INTOG auction, developers will apply for the rights to build small-scale innovative offshore wind projects of less than 100 MW, as well as larger projects connected to oil and gas infrastructure to provide electricity and reduce the carbon emissions associated with those sites.

The INTOG leasing round will have three key stages: Exclusivity, Option Agreements, and Lease, according to the details recently published by Crown Estate Scotland.

In its latest press release, announcing the company’s intention to become one of the leading players in the offshore wind-based oil and gas electrification market, Havfram said it was working on a low-cost offshore wind solution for this application.

“Appreciating the project capacity for electrification projects is considerably smaller than the large scale grid connection projects we are seeing, we recognise that economies of scale are unlikely, so a different approach is needed to deliver cost effective small scale projects”, Emilie Reeve told offshoreWIND.biz.

“We are speaking with a number of technology developers and supply chain companies to determine a different approach for cost efficiencies through supply of materials, procurement and installation strategies etc. in order to have a low cost solution”.

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