The Gjøa platform in the North Sea off the Norwegian coast is back in production after a gas leak shut it down on June 21, the operator of the oil and gas field, ENGIE E&P, said in a statement on Friday.
Gjøa will gradually increase production back to its normal level shortly after start-up, said ENGIE, which holds 30 percent in the field.
On June 22, ENGIE said that late on the previous day a condensate leak occurred at the Gjøa platform. The situation quickly came under control, and no injuries occurred. The condensate leak was stopped, no leakages to sea took place, and production remains shut down, the company said back then.
In today's statement, ENGIE updated on the direct cause of the leak-a crack in a weld of a ½" pipe associated with a condensate pump.
The company's inspections have revealed welding deficiencies in other condensate pumps, and ENGIE said that these malfunctions have now been rectified.
A company internal investigation and the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authorities are investigating the leakage incident, ENGIE said.
Daily oil and gas production of Gjøa and Vega is around 30,000 barrels of oil.
Gjøa is Engie E&P's first production operatorship on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Apart from ENGIE E&P Norge's 30-percent interest in the field, the other partners are A/S Norske Shell with 12 percent, DEA Norge AS with 8 percent, Petoro AS with 30 percent, and Wintershall Norge AS with 20 percent.
The Gjøa field was discovered in 1989, and ENGIE E&P acquired a 30 percent interest in it in 2003. The Gjøa gas reservoir sits on top of a thin oil rim, and contains an estimated 40 billion cubic meters of gas reserves.
The field was developed through a joint operatorship with Statoil, and production started in November 2010.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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