Aker BP brings on stream new well at Tambar

Norwegian oil company Aker BP has brought on stream the first of two new infill wells which are part of the Tambar re-development project in the producing Tambar field offshore Norway.

Discovered in 1983, the Aker BP-operated Tambar is an oil field about 16 kilometers south-east of the Ula field in the southern part of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The water depth in the area is 68 meters. The reservoir lies at a depth of 4,100-4,200 meters.

The field has been developed with a remotely controlled wellhead facility without processing equipment and started production in 2001. The oil is transported to Ula through a pipeline. After processing at Ula, the oil is exported in the existing pipeline system via Ekofisk to Teesside in the UK, while the gas is injected into the Ula reservoir to improve oil recovery.

In 2017, a re-development project was initiated to extend the lifetime of Tambar with two new wells and gas lift, and an application for a license extension to 2028 was submitted.

New well in production 

Tambar re-development, which includes two infill wells and a gas lift project, was approved in the Tambar license in March 2017. Drilling operations started last October, using the Maersk Interceptor jack-up drilling rig. One year after it was approved, the project supplied its first barrels of oil.

Aker BP said on Monday that the first well started production at the beginning of March 2018. The second is expected to follow in 2Q 2018. Associated gas from the Tambar gas lift project and two new Tambar infill wells will be injected in Ula.

The combination of the infill wells and installation of gas lift has the potential to increase Tambar production markedly and extend field life by up to ten years, contributing to lower unit operating costs in the Ula hub area.

Gas lift is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2018. The goal is for Tambar re-development to provide between 4000-6000 new barrels every day over several years.

Net production from Tambar averaged 1.9 mboepd in 2017. Year-end 2017 P50 reserves are estimated at 14.7 mmboe net to Aker BP.

Offshore Energy Today Staff