More oil in the Oseberg area
Equinor has, on behalf of the Oseberg partners, made a profitable oil discovery related to Oseberg Vestflanken. The well was drilled by the Askepott rig and the discovery will soon be put on stream via the new, unmanned and remote-operated H platform on the Oseberg field.
Included in the Oseberg Vestflanken phase 2 project, the exploration extension well 30/6-H-9-T4 proved a 112-metre oil column in a segment that has not been tested before. Oil was proven in the Statfjord formation in southern parts of the Alpha structure on Oseberg.
Reservoir characteristics are excellent with high oil saturation. Recoverable resources are estimated at 22 million barrels of oil. The partners will consider water injection to further increase recoverable volumes.
“This discovery improves the Oseberg Vestflanken resource base. It can be put on stream with limited investments and adds significant value to the partnership. We are combining drilling of exploration and production wells to achieve highly profitable exploration wells at low cost,” says Gunnar Nakken, senior vice president for the operations west cluster of Equinor.
(The article continues below the photo)
“Discoveries as these underline the importance of near-field exploration. Our ambition is to maintain profitable production from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) for several decades. A major contribution will come from wells that are drilled at low cost and close to existing infrastructure,” says Nakken.
Equinor’s NCS roadmap focuses on developing our key hubs for sustainable and long-term value creation. The Oseberg area is such a hub, offering a good resource base and possible future tie-ins from fields in the area.
The unmanned and remote-operated wellhead platform Oseberg H came on stream less than a year ago. The well was drilled by the Oseberg licence’s new, state-of-the-art Cat J-rig Askepott on its first assignments on Vestflanken.
“Having played a key role in the Norwegian oil adventure, Oseberg will continue to be important to us for a long time going forward. We are therefore pleased to see that recent investments in the area prove to be good business for both partners and society,” continues Nakken.
Oseberg is one of the big «elephants» on the NCS. At the end of 2017, Oseberg was the third largest oil producer on the NCS having produced around 2.9 billion barrels of oil. Original development plans were based on an oil production of around 2.0 billion barrels. Current expectations are that 3.1 billion barrels of oil will be produced during the lifetime of the field.
Related pages and downloads
- Oseberg partners: Equinor (49.3% - operator), Petoro (33.6%), Total E&P Norge (14.7%), ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (2.4%)
- Having sold around 2.9 billion barrels of oil, Oseberg is Norway’s third largest oil producer throughout the times, following Statfjord and Ekofisk.
- Only Troll and Snøhvit of current fields in production have higher remaining gas reserves than Oseberg.
- Since production start in 1988 the Oseberg field has generated an estimated revenue of NOK 900 billion, corresponding to NOK 85 million per day.
- A large part of the Oseberg revenue is paid to the Norwegian state through taxes and the state’s ownership interest. This way the Oseberg field has contributed around NOK 450 billion in revenue to the Norwegian state.
- The Oseberg field consists of a main reservoir, Oseberg Main, and several minor reservoirs (satellite fields). Oil production from the main reservoir has so far been prioritised, however, export of the large gas cap is currently being escalated.
- Oseberg Main is producing through the Oseberg field centre and the Oseberg C platform.
- The Oseberg South, Oseberg East and Oseberg H platforms are producing from the satellite fields and transporting the oil to the Oseberg field centre. Gas from the satellite fields is injected back to the reservoir and produced at the Oseberg field centre.
- The gas is exported from the Oseberg field centre to markets in the UK and the Continent. Oil and condensate are piped to the Sture terminal in Øygarden north of Bergen.
- Production from the first unmanned wellhead platform on the Norwegian continental shelf, Oseberg H, started in the autumn of 2018.