Aker BP ASA has started construction on three gas and condensate discoveries in the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea.
Collectively known as the Skarv Satellite Project, the Alve Nord, Idun Nord and Orn fields are “the largest development offshore Norway in recent years,” the company said in a press release this week announcing the progress
The project extends production at Skarv, which began more than 10 years ago, Aker BP said. The satellite project aims to start production in the third quarter of 2027 with an expected recovery of 120 million barrels of oil equivalent resources, mainly gas.
During its decade of production to date, “Skarv has been a reliable supplier of oil and, above all, gas to Europe, and now produces around 22 million standard cubic meters. [776.9 million cubic feet] of gas and about 25,000 barrels of condensate every day,” the company said.
The satellite project aims to maintain production until 2040.
Construction has now begun on the first of three seabed facilities for the satellite project, Aker BP said, about two months after the development plan was approved by the Ministry of Petroleum and Norwegian Energy.
Each of the discoveries has a subsea jig with four well slots and two wells tied to the production vessel Skarv, a floating production storage and offloading platform (FPSO), in the northern Norwegian Sea, according to Aker BP.
“The Modification Alliance [Aker BP and Aker Solutions ASA] will carry out comprehensive modifications to the Skarv production vessel so that it can receive production from the satellite developments,” the statement said.
“Aker BP is using the company’s alliance model in the implementation phase, including the Subsea Alliance with Aker Solutions and Subsea 7, and the Modification Alliance with Aker Solutions,” the announcement said, which notes that the approach saves costs and brings “synergies across deliverables.” “.
“Norwegian suppliers are expected to provide around 60 percent of the investments,” which is estimated at $179.7 billion (NOK 17 billion), he said.
The production of the three discoveries “will be low CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions around 4.5 kg per barrel,” Aker BP noted. “After commissioning, they will account for around 60 percent of Aker BP’s net production from the Skarv area for several years” .
In addition to extending the life of the production vessel, the satellite project “is also a direct response to the stimulus package adopted by the Storting (Norwegian parliament) three years ago,” Aker BP said.
“The aim was to ensure activity, preserve jobs, promote competition and skills and further develop the industry during a period characterized by the pandemic, record oil prices and a sharp decline in investment.”
At Aker BP’s announcement on June 28 of the ministry’s approval of the development plan, Skarv director Thomas Ovretveit said: “If we are to achieve our goal of creating the oil and gas hub of the future in the Norwegian Sea, we must succeed in developing and putting into production the Skarv satellite project.”
“The SSP [Skarv Satellite Project] The developments also pave the way for future developments in the area, related to new discoveries, which may contribute to an extended production of FPSO Skarv.”
Aker BP has a 68% stake in Alve Nord, under production license (PL) 127C, while Wintershall DEA AG has a 20% stake and PGNIG Upstream Norway AS owns 11.9%. In Idun Nord, which is under PL 159D, Wintershall DEA has 40%, Equinor ASA 36.16% and Aker BP 23.83%. In Orn, under PL 942, PGNIG Upstream Norway owns 40 percent, while Aker BP and Equinor each have 30 percent.
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