New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Floating wind turbine arrives to power Culzean offshore gas platform
15/9/2026
News
A 3MW floating wind turbine has arrived at the Culzean gas field in the UK Central North Sea following a successful tow-out from Wergeland Base in Gulen, Norway.
Now sitting in its permanent location 2km west of the Culzean platform, 220km off the eastern coast of Scotland, it will supply approximately 20% of the electricity required by the Culzean offshore platform once fully integrated. The turbine will directly reduce the platform’s reliance on gas turbines and lower overall greenhouse gas emissions, according to Archer Wind, the floating wind arm of Norwegian oilfield services group Archer.
Leading the technical execution, Archer Wind led the engineering, fabrication and assembly work for the Culzean floating wind project over a two-year period.
After assembly, the unit left the industrial port near Mongstad and headed to the offshore field. The turbine rests on a modular semi-submersible floater designed by Ocergy. During construction, assembly teams built the floater structure from prefabricated sections joined by large compact flanges, which project partners say is the world’s first bolted floating wind structure.
‘From the outside it looks like a single welded pipe, but it’s actually been built up from large, mirrored flange connections, with the nut and bolt on the inside of the pipe,’ said Kolbjørn Kirkebo, Product Manager for Archer Wind project.
‘Culzean is a hugely important project for offshore wind and for Norwegian industry,’ continued Margunn Bjørnestad, Chief Executive Officer of Wergeland Group. ‘It’s a strong demonstration that Norwegian and British sectors can work together to deliver new energy and support the transition. It also shows the value of the competence we already have from the oil and gas industry, such as logistics, heavy lifts and the collaboration needed to keep a complex project on schedule, safely.’
Bjørnestad said Culzean is the fourth floating wind project assembled at the base, with lessons from each project feeding into the next.
‘You can’t overstate the importance of running pilots like this before scaling up,’ added Charlotte Berge, Executive Vice-President of Renewables at Archer. ‘You learn an enormous amount about the technology, but also about cost efficiency and that’s exactly what will make the next projects succeed.’
The project is one of 13 schemes awarded seabed rights under Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round in 2023 and is the first of those to be installed. NEO NEXT+ Energy now operates it, formed in March 2026 through the merger of NEO Energy, Repsol UK and TotalEnergies’ UK upstream business.
