Statoil ASA, together with partners Eni Norge AS and Petoro AS, has established a plan for further exploration drilling in the Skrugard area. The exploration campaign will comprise four new prospects and is scheduled to commence late 2012.
The objective is to follow up on the Skrugard and Havis discoveries and to test further upside potential in this area of the Barents Sea, including production licences PL532 and PL608.
“We are very satisfied with our recent exploration achievements in the Barents Sea. In less than a year, we have made two substantial oil discoveries in PL532, proving 400-600 million barrels of recoverable oil. We have also drilled a successful appraisal well on Skrugard confirming volume estimates and collecting data for field development planning,” says Knut Harald Nygård, Statoil vice president for exploration in the Skrugard area.
“We see good opportunities for further upside in the area, and have identified four new interesting prospects. In some of these we have observed flat spots of the same type as in the Skrugard and Havis discoveries.”
The four prospects will be drilled back to back with the West Hercules drilling rig, which will be winterised to meet the weather conditions in the Barents Sea.
The drilling campaign will start in PL532 with the Nunatak prospect due to be spud in December this year. Then the rig will proceed to the Skavl prospect located in the same licence, and thereafter to the Iskrystall prospect in the neighbouring licence PL608. The fourth prospect to be drilled will be announced at a later stage.
Statoil’s ambition is to complete drilling of all four prospects by late spring/early summer 2013.
“With the Skrugard and Havis discoveries, we are establishing a new strategic hub in the northernmost part of the Norwegian continental shelf. Proving additional volumes in the area would make the development even more robust,” says Erik Strand Tellefsen, Statoil vice president for Skrugard field development.
Statoil is operator for production licences PL532 and PL608 with an ownership share of 50% in each. The licence partners in both licences are Eni Norge AS (30%) and Petoro AS (20%).
Milestones set for major find
The licensees of Norway’s Johan Sverdrup discovery will select a development concept in the fourth quarter of 2013, and aim to start production in the last three months of 2018.
With a forecast producing life of more than 30 years, the production time frame for this North Sea find extends to 2050.
A plan for development and operation (PDO) of Johan Sverdrup is due to be submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Statoil will serve as operator until an investment decision is taken and the PDO submitted, and the project team is located in Stavanger with participation from the partners.
“Our main job now is to narrow down the volume range and uncertainty, and to study solutions with the aim of achieving a flexible development based on standard technology,” says Øivind Reinertsen, Statoil’s project director for Johan Sverdrup.
“We have long experience with solutions above the seabed in this area and these water depths, including current developments such as Gudrun, Edvard Grieg and Draupne.”
However, a great deal will depend on sub-surface conditions. The discovery extends over 180 square kilometres, with variations in the thickness of the oil oil-bearing strata.
The Utsira High, where Johan Sverdrup is located, is regarded as a new area and also requires integrated solutions for power supply and oil export.
Separate studies have accordingly been established for these two aspects, with Johan Sverdrup as part of their basis.
Biggest
Johan Sverdrup is one of the largest discoveries made on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) since the mid 1980s, and will be among the biggest jobs there in coming year.
The project has a high priority among the other licensees – Lundin, Petoro, Det Norske and Maersk Oil – and work on it will draw on the experience and knowledge of the whole partnership.
Once developed with several installations, the field will be a new hub for processing and transport on a par with the other giants on the NCS.
Facts
• Johan Sverdrup comprises two discoveries which form one field
• Location: in the North Sea, 140 kilometres west of Stavanger
• The water depth is 110 metres, the reservoir is 1,900 metres deep
• The plan for development and operation (PDO) is due to be submitted in the fourth quarter of 2014
• Production is scheduled to start in the final three months of 2018
• The field is likely to continue producing until 2050
Licensees
• production licence 501: Lundin Petroleum (operator) 40%, Statoil 40%, Maersk Oil 20%
• production licence 265: Statoil 40%, Petoro 30%, Det Norske Oljeselskap 20%, Lundin Petroleum 10%
Source: Statoil