OFFSHORE EUROPE Jeremy Beckman • London
Third platform
proposed for Snorre
Statoil wants to add a new drilling and processing platform to prolong production from
the Snorre feld in the Nor wegian North Sea
through 2040. The company began studying
options for redeveloping the feld in 2010, including subsea tiebacks to the two existing
platforms. According to analysts ScanBoss,
it was partner Petoro that pressed for the
third fxed installation.
When the plan for the original feld development was submitted in 1989, Statoil anticipated a 25% recovery rate. However, various improved oil recovery (IOR) measures and other
new technologies have pushed the expected
return to 47%, and more recent IOR programs
could lift the rate to 55%. As a result, Statoil’s
estimate of Snorre’s recoverable oil reserves
has more than doubled to 1. 55 Bbbl.
The company expects to reach agreement
with its partners on the fnal concept early
in 2015, which should give them time to digest the fnancial implications of Norway’s
harsher petroleum tax rules which came
into force in May. Project sanction should
follow in late 2016. ScanBoss claims the
new development could cost NKr 40 billion
($6.48 billion).
Both the Snorre A and B platforms will
remain in operation, with the new instal-
lation likely to be a TLP. Forty wells could
be drilled from the new complex to access a
further 300 MMbbl of reserves, with recov-
ery enhanced through injection of gas into
the reservoir. The gas could be imported
from the Gullfaks or Visund felds. Aker
Solutions is currently working on another
program to upgrade drilling equipment on
Snorre A, allowing drilling from this facility
also to continue through 2040, generating a
further 67 MMbbl of production.
ScanBoss adds that a new export system
will likely be needed. Currently oil and gas
from Snorre A are sent to the Statfjord A
platform. Options could include a new pipeline to Gullfaks A.
In the Utsira High region of the central
Norwegian North Sea, Statoil and its partners have recommended installing a 165-km
(102-mi) subsea pipeline to take associated
gas from the Johan Sverdrup feld to a connection point in the Statpipe trunkline system off the island of Karmøy. From there
the gas would head to the Kårstø processing complex north of Stavanger. The new
line would have a capacity of 10 MMcm/d
( 35 MMcf/d), much larger than Johan Sverdrup’s early-phase needs, allowing for potential tie-ins of other gas felds in the area.
Statoil outlines 2014
exploration targets
The extended shutdown of the Njord platform in the Norwegian Sea due to structural
issues has not affected exploration in the
area. In November, Statoil proved oil from
a well and side track in Jurassic and Trias-sic formations on the Snilehorn prospect, 15
km ( 9. 3 mi) northeast of Njord. Recoverable
volumes could be up to 100 MMbbl.
During 2014 Statoil plans to drill 20-25 ex-
ploration wells offshore Nor way, including a
deepwater campaign in the area of its Aasta
Hansteen development in the Norwegian
Sea. Farther north, the company will drill up
to seven wells in the Barents Sea, the main
aim being to prove further oil reserves for
tie-in to the Johan Castberg (Skrugard/Ha-
vis) development. In the North Sea, priori-
ties include drilling two prospects close to
last year’s high-pressure/high-temperature
King Lear gas/condensate fnd.
Unlike Norway, where many companies
have been drilling exploratory wells over
the past few months, UK offshore activity
appears to have slipped back. Deloitte’s latest review identifed only 11 exploration and
appraisal wells in UK waters during 3Q 2013,
six down on the corresponding quarter in
2012. However, many companies have outstanding commitments from recent licensing rounds, the authors pointed out, and
these could nudge well numbers upward in
the current quarter.
UK review urges
greater collaboration
Former Wood Group Chairman Sir Ian
Wood has proposed numerous measures
to help maximize recovery from the UK’s
remaining offshore reserves. The suggestions arise from a review of the sector and
its future needs, commissioned last June by
Britain’s Secretary of State for Energy and
Climate Change Ed Davey. A full report will
follow early next year.
Investment in new UK offshore projects
is at record levels and new frontier plays
are emerging, yet exploration and produc-
tion rates continue to fall. After canvassing
the views of 40 active players responsible
for 95% of UK production, along with regula-
tors for the Norwegian and Dutch offshore
sectors, Sir Ian concluded: “We need to
strengthen the capacity and capability of our
stewardship regime to enhance collabora-
tion signifcantly if we are to meet the chal-
lenging demands of maturity.”
He recommended that Britain’s Depart-
ment of Energy and Climate Change estab-
lish a new regulatory body to take on the
stewardship role with additional powers to
improve coordination of activities. The new
body would be funded by the industry and
the two would work together to develop new
strategies in exploration, opening third-par-
ty access to infrastructure, improving pro-
duction effciency, and decommissioning.
Oil companies should also collaborate more
widely in the development of regional production hubs, he suggested. And all parties
should work to lessen the complexity and delays in legal and commercial procedures that
are holding up some development projects.
Oil & Gas UK welcomed the interim proposals. CEO Malcolm Webb said: “The industry made it clear in its response to Sir Ian
Wood’s consultation that there is also an appetite to examine how we do business here
and recognition of the need for a fundamental
change of approach if we are to secure the
next phase of offshore oil and gas development in the UK.” •
Three platforms could be the way forward for the Snorre field in the North Sea. (Courtesy Statoil)
