US$180 million order from Norway's state-owned oil company, Statoil, to deliver a complete subsea gas production system for its Snøhvit gas field in the Barents Sea.

ABB said operators at Statoil's liquefied natural gas plant near Hammerfest on Norway's northern coast would remotely control the subsea system. This would be done via a 161km long fibre optic cable - the longest ever used in such a subsea operation.

"The offshore oil and gas industry is increasingly moving equipment from the ocean surface to the seabed. There are a number of reasons for this, including environmental and cost considerations," said senior vice president and head of ABB's oil, gas and petrochemicals division, Erik Fougner.

The terms of the contract include project management, engineering, manufacturing of hardware, testing and technical services for the delivery of an integrated subsea production facility for the gas field. The engineering work will start immediately with the project due to be completed by 2005.

Statoil has placed a number of orders with ABB in the past few months, including contracts relating to the Hammerfest plant, and for maintenance and modification work on other oil and gas fields in the North Sea.