The Gullfaks B mating

Three weeks after the substructure (also called Gravity Based Structure, GBS) arrived in Yrkjefjorden, the topside was transported from Moss Rosenberg in Stavanger to Yrkjefjorden, where it was positioned above the substructure.

Weighing 29,000 tons, the topside was significantly lighter than the substructure. Nevertheless, moving it from Stavanger to Vats was no simple task. Six tugboats towed the topside, while it was kept afloat by three barges. The journey took 16 hours.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Jupåskås. S. H. (29.04.1987) Gullfaks B trygt i Vats. Stavanger Aftenblad, s. 9.

The mating operation went smoothly, and over the following days water was pumped out of the substructure to provide buoyancy, allowing it to gradually take on the weight of the topside.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Vats at the Center

Along with the topside came 400 Moss Rosenberg employees, 100 from Statoil, and 70 from Norwegian Contractors. They would spend the coming months connecting the two sections.

The workers were housed in a temporary camp set up in Vats, which had a total capacity of 1,200 beds—more than enough for the Gullfaks B workforce. Over the next months, Vats would increasingly be at the center of activity.

The Gullfaks C substructure was, due to its height, largely constructed in Yrkjefjorden rather than Gandsfjorden, which was not deep enough. The base structure of the Gullfaks C substructure arrived in Yrkjefjorden one month after the Gullfaks B topside.

Two months later, at the end of July 1987, Gullfaks B was christened and sufficiently completed for the platform to leave Yrkjefjorden and head out to open sea.