Today, Morten Hesselager Pedersen turns 50 – and he has become known as the man who personified the reconstruction of the Tyra field in the North Sea, often portrayed in both a helmet and safety glasses. He has since made a significant career change when he became head of the development of the largest construction project in Danish history at Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP), which is an offshoot of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
The new assignment makes the work on the Tyra reconstruction look like a mini-put assignment. The job, whose official title is vice president and director of engineering, procurement and construction, will be a project worth around 330 billion kroner. DKK - for VindØ, which will be located approximately 100 km out in the North Sea west of Thorsminde on the west coast of Jutland.
Now 50-year-old Morten Hesselager Pedersen has had a lifelong career in the oil and gas industry at Maersk Oil and TotalEnergies. He was born in Copenhagen and raised in Næstved, after which his path led him to DTU, where he graduated with a degree in chemical engineering.
That was the start of a professional career that took him from Kazakhstan to Houston to Qatar before landing in Esbjerg. It was in 2015 that he moved to Denmark's offshore capital, where the task of rebuilding the Tyra field awaited. But here too, the pandemic ended up playing a role.
- I had a really good team in Esbjerg, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as Indonesia on the Tyra reconstruction. I am very proud of how well we managed in the midst of corona with few or very limited opportunities to travel. We were super successful in developing virtual and digital management tools. We really had to think outside the box, and I am sure that is why we succeeded so well. But you can't do a project for 21 billion DKK without encountering problems, and the team was trained to tackle that, says Morten Hesselager Pedersen, now sitting in COP's headquarters at Amerikas Plads in Copenhagen.
When the most difficult parts of the Tyra reconstruction were over at the end of 2021, he made a decision that hit the Danish energy news.
- Mentally, I had reached a point where I was done with it. A large part of my personal motivation comes from getting out of my comfort zone. I had reached a point where I needed new challenges. At that time I had been in dialogue with CIP, and VindØ was a project that I wanted to be a part of. Imagine building a ten GW energy island 100 km out in the North Sea. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – and it was a journey I had to go on. The timing was just right for me, says Morten Hesselager Pedersen.
He had also noticed that the green agenda had moved into the spotlight at a furious pace.
- It was also a recognition of the development that has taken place since 2016, he says.
Esbjerg was a dealbreaker
Although Morten Hesselager Pedersen has been around the world to extract oil and gas, there was one thing that was important to him in connection with the new job.
- My children were born in Qatar, and we are a super mobile family, used to diversity and cultural differences, but now we have become happy to live in Esbjerg. My children have horses, and I am super happy for Esbjerg, where there is the sea, golf course and mountain bike terrain right nearby. That's why it was a condition that I could stay in Esbjerg, says Morten Hesselager Pedersen, even though his family is in Esbjerg and he mostly works in Copenhagen. That's why he has found an apartment in the city.
- It's also a good opportunity to rekindle old friendships here when I'm not in Esbjerg, says Morten Hesselager Pedersen.
On the way to VindØ
The work that is currently underway is crucial for what Denmark's energy future will look like in the next half century.
- Denmark will need enormous amounts of green electricity, and at the same time we have a geographical position that is absolutely right in terms of exporting to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. My focus right now is on the physical framework for VindØ. What provides the very best conditions for Denmark? The lifespan of VindØ is just one of the things that we are in dialogue with the authorities about. 50 years has been mentioned because the current life expectancy of an offshore wind farm is now 25 years. This means that VindØ would be built for the expected life of two generations of offshore wind farms, explains Morten Hesselager Pedersen.
How long VindØ will last depends on several different factors, as is the case with a possible possibility of being able to extend its life in 50 years.
- No one knows at this time whether VindØ can have its life extended in 50 years. It may even last even longer, but it is very important that it is built in a sustainable way. But the longer it has to last, the more expensive it will also be. The Tyra reconstruction was actually also a life extension project, where the main structures were extended in life, he explains, and does not rule out that VindØ could last longer than 50 years or could have its life extended.
COP has already found an experienced advisor for the major project.
- There is a need for VindØ as soon as possible. That is why we have sought advice from Njord Group, an experienced contractor in the field. It is important that there is a dialogue between the market and the authorities, so that we can create a design that suits the needs of the future, explains Morten Hesselager Pedersen.
But today Morten Hesselager Pedersen probably has his thoughts somewhere else than on VindØ, as he celebrates his 50th birthday "across generations" as he himself says. His eldest daughter celebrates her 18th birthday on July 15.
- We are celebrating a 68th birthday with family and friends, says Morten Hesselager Pedersen.
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