Norwegian authorities have approved Statoil’s estimated US$2.3 billion (NOK20 billion) plan of development and operation (PDO) for the Njord and Bauge fields in the Norwegian Sea.

Statoil will upgrade the Njord A platform and Njord Bravo floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO) to recover the remaining resources in the Njord and Hyme fields of 175MMboe. The upgrades – estimated to cost $1.8billion (NOK15.7 billion) will allow Njord, which started production in 1997, to produce for another 20 years.

Between 1997 and 2016, Njord produced 175MMboe. Over its lifetime, 54 wells were drilled at Njord; 10 new production wells are planned for the field. Last year, Statoil towed the platform and FSO ashore to Stord and Kristiansund respectively for upgrades after cracks were found in the structure.

“Njord remaining on stream until 2040 is important for our specialist communities in Kristiansund and Stjørdal, as well as the mid-Norway supply industry,” said Siri Espedal Kindem, Statoil’s senior vice president, Operations North, Development and Production Norway, in a 20 June press statement.“An upgraded field center and new infrastructure at Njord also allows for the development of other fields in the area.”

In 2018, the Njord partners will award the contract for upgrading the Njord Bravo FSO. Oil production is scheduled to begin at the end of 2020.

The company also will initiate new development at Bauge, which Statoil will tie back to the Njord A platform. Statoil expects Bauge to produce 73MMboe. Field development expenditures are estimated at $479.6million (NOK4.1 billion).

The Bauge field development concept includes one subsea template, two oil producers and one water injection well. Kværner at Stord has been awarded the contract for upgrading the platform and work facilitating the tie-in of Bauge and potential future third-party tie-ins.

The investments will trigger high activities and spin-offs for the Norwegian society and Norwegian supply industry, said Torger Rød, Statoil’s head of project development, in the release.

Statoil submitted on behalf of its partners the PDO on 27 March, 2017. Statoil is operator of the Njord and Bauge fields with 20% and 35% respective interests.

Statoil’s partners in Njord include Engie E&P Norge AS (20%), DEA Norge AS (50%), Faroe Petroleum (7.5%) and VNG Norge AS (2.5%). The company’s partners in Bauge are ENGIE E&P Norge AS (10%), Point Resources AS (17.5%), DEA Norge AS (27.5%), Faroe Petroleum Norge AS (7.5%), and VNG Norge AS (2.5%).

In January, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said it expected the Norwegian upstream sector to recover this year, thanks in part to large final investment decisions for field development projects such Njord Future.

The Norwegian Continental Shelf still contains significant untapped oil and gas resources. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate estimates an additional 850 MMcum in resources can be produced through improved recovery methods, assuming companies make investment decisions for projects already identified.

Source: www.oedigital.com