A heavyweight at the christening

Gullfaks C weighed in at over 1.5 million tonnes. Little wonder the godmother and Statoil veteran Kari Løwen said she was glad she didn’t have to carry the baby to the baptism.

On the day of the christening at Stord, April 12, 1989, size was the central theme. Several yardsticks were used to convey how big the “baby” was: at tow-out, the platform would be the largest object ever moved; the concrete in the substructure equalled the walls of 40,000 houses; and the reinforcing steel matched ten Eiffel Towers.

The godmother also noted that, in a sense, Gullfaks C was an unwanted child, given that the oil price on the day of the christening was relatively low compared with when the first plans for the Gullfaks field were laid.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Alf Terje Myklebust, “Gullfaks-dåp i frisk vind,” Haugesunds Avis, April 13, 1988, 28, Nasjonalbiblioteket.

In 1989, Gullfaks C was also the tallest platform. In 1995, Troll A took that record.

In May 1989, Gullfaks C was towed out to the Gullfaks field as the last of the three Gullfaks platforms. The family looked complete, but like most families it kept growing and evolving. In the years after 1989, additional subsea wells and satellite fields were added.