On 13 March 2023, H.E. Ms. Vimolbajra Ruksakiati, Ambassador of Thailand to Norway, along with officers from the Embassy, paid a study visit to an offshore oil production platform “Draugen” located on Norwegian Continental Shelf, 150 kilometers from Kristiansund, upon the invitation by Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited. The study visit was led by Mr. Svein J. Liknes, CEO of OKEA ASA and Mrs. Gloyta Na Talang, Executive Vice President, Corporate Branding, Communication and Sustainability Activation, Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited. The OKEA platform team gave a very informative and illustrating briefing on the platform’s oil and gas production, workers’ safety measures, emergency evacuation procedures and coordination between medical personnels offshore and onshore in critical situations. The OKEA platform team also gave an extensive guided tour of the Draugen oil production platform from the concrete shaft Monopod at the sea depth in the Norwegian Sea and up to the highest level of the platform.
Currently, Draugen is the only oil production platform in Norway, where the major shareholder is a Thai private sector. With successful and efficient production of the Draugen oil field, the lifespan of the field is forecasted until 2040. During the last quarter of 2023, Draugen is also expected to connect with Hasselmus gas field, where the natural gas will be used to generate electricity for Draugen’s facilities and export.
The cooperation Bangchak Group and the OKEA ASA is a good model of cooperation between Thailand and Norway particularly in promoting of energy accessibility, energy security, and energy sustainability. This collaboration reflects the policy linkage cooperation between Norway’s Green Transition policy and Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy.
The Thai Embassy in Oslo wishes to express our deep appreciation to Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited and OKEA ASA for providing the Embassy’s team with great learning experience on this study tour and a warm hospitality from the OKEA team given to the Ambassador and our team during the visit to Draugen. The Embassy stands ready to support the growing excellent collaboration between the Thai and Norwegian private sectors particularly on clean energy which will provide important contribution to the cordial relations between Thailand and Norway and our peoples.