Volve is an integrated production module located on the Maersk Inspirer – an ultra-harsh environment jack-up rig – in the Volve oil field off the coast of Norway, 220 kilometres from Stavanger. The combination of drilling and production on a single drilling rig is very rare. Maersk Inspirer is the world’s largest and most advanced jack-up drilling rig, and combined with Maersk FPSOs' high-end process facility, it is a one-of-a-kind. It gives the Inspirer the capability to move into smaller oil fields during harsh conditions, when fixed installations are not an option. It has proven to be a successful operation for both contractor and project operator, Statoil. The process module is capable of producing 56,000 barrels of oil and 53 million cubic feet of gas per day.

The Maersk Inspirer-Volve project began in 2006 as the largest rig project ever undertaken by the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. It was a truly international venture: Maersk is based in Denmark, the rig was built in South Korea. Aibel of Norway designed the topside facilities at their Oslo offices and in Singapore, the modules were built at Map Tha Put in Thailand and transported to Haugesund shipyards in Norway for modification and integration with the rig itself. Oil production began in February 2008.

The Maersk Inspirer-Volve project proves that even in extremely harsh weather and marine conditions, small and otherwise inaccessible oil fields are still within reach.

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