Posted on September 1, 2025
Rotterdam, the Netherlands – Van Oord has successfully completed high-precision ballasting operations for the West White Rose project in Canada. Van Oord deployed its flexible fallpipe vessels Nordnes and Stornes to carry out the work. In addition, Van Oord installed a protective scour edge around the Concrete Gravity Structure (CGS) to mitigate the effects of seabed erosion.
Located in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin, approximately 350 kilometres off the east coast of Newfoundland, Canada, the West White Rose project is an expansion of the White Rose field. It consists of a fixed drilling platform situated on a custom-designed Concrete Gravity Structure (CGS). The CGS has a base diameter of 122 metres, is 145 metres tall, and supports an integrated drilling and production topside. Van Oord’s scope of work is divided into four phases: seabed preparation, solid ballasting activities, scour protection, and flowline protection.
Seabed preparation layer
During the first phase, completed in September 2024, Van Oord installed a seabed preparation layer that serves as the foundation for the CGS. The installation required strict adherence to client specifications and involved extensive planning, material testing, rigorous quality control of quarried rock, full-scale trials, and the expertise of a highly qualified and committed project team, along with the vessel crew of Stornes, which was deployed for the task.
Ballasting operations
In the second phase of the project, Van Oord carried out solid ballasting of the CGS to ensure sufficient weight for seabed stability once positioned. The unique design of the structure required a high degree of accuracy. Van Oord’s flexible fallpipe vessels Nordnes and Stornes approached the CGS simultaneously using dynamic positioning (DP), with one vessel on each side. Using boom belt-conveyors, they inserted MagnaDense (iron ore) into the CGS’s outer ring compartments. The vessels were constantly positioned 180 degrees from each other while moving around the CGS to fill all 24 compartments evenly. The ballasting operations were meant to prepare the CGS before its tow-out. The CGS has now been positioned on top of the seabed preparation layer previously installed by Van Oord.
’Van Oord has proven that it can execute a project of this complexity according to the highest standards. It has been successful thanks to excellent collaboration with both our client and across the entire team, as well as our skilled people and our fantastic equipment and automation.’
Hans Smit, Project Manager at Van Oord
Scour and flowline protection
In the third phase of the project, Van Oord deployed its flexible fallpipe vessel Nordnes to install a protective scour edge around the CGS. The final phase, scheduled for Q4, will involve stabilising the pipelines from the drilling platform on the seabed. Once completed, the client will be able to bring the platform into operation.
