Equinor has started production at Statfjord Øst, which is expected to boost production by a total of 26 million barrels of oil equivalents from the project, the Norwegian energy major said on Friday.
Equinor has been looking to extend the life of various producing oil and gas fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf by maximizing oil and gas recovery rates and tying the new wells to existing infrastructure—a lower-cost solution to boosting output than building infrastructure from scratch.
The new North Sea project, which started up six months ahead of schedule, is expected to deliver within its previously estimated cost, despite inflation and a weakened Norwegian currency, Equinor said.
The company and its partners in the field have already drilled two new wells from existing subsea templates and plan to drill three additional wells. Statfjord Øst is tied to the Statfjord C platform, and the project includes a modification on Statfjord C and laying of a new pipeline for gas lift to the subsea wells.
Equinor expects the oil recovery rate from the field to increase to 63% from 58% as a result of the project.
“This proves the importance of extending the life of mature fields and maximizing value creation from existing infrastructure on the Norwegian -continental shelf (NCS),” said Camilla Salthe, Equinor’s senior vice president for Field Life eXtension (FLX).
“The project contributes to extending the life of Statfjord C to 2040. The profitability is high,” Salthe added.
Earlier this year, Equinor reopened the Njord gas field in the Norwegian Sea, aiming to more than double the field’s production and raise Norwegian gas exports to Europe.
At the end of June, Norway approved the development of 19 offshore oil and gas projects worth more than $18.66 billion (200 billion Norwegian crowns) in investments, as Western Europe’s top oil and gas producer looks to sustain the high production from its shelf.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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