Dong to abandon Oselvar field

Dong Energy has reportedly decided to shut down production from the Oselvar field offshore Norway 14 years earlier than planned due to reservoir issues. 

The Oselvar oil and gas field is located in the southern part of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea and it was put in production in April 2012. The field is located approximately 24 kilometres south-west of the Ula field and north-west of the Gyda field.

Oselvar is a subsea solution directly connected to the Ula field via a pipeline. The expected lifetime of the field was 20 years.

According to documents accessed by Offshore.no, a news website covering Norway’s offshore oil and gas industry, the production from the field will most likely be shut down in 2018.

The Norwegian news website also said that the Oselvar infrastructure will be taken to shore for recycling if the company does not re-use it on another field.

As the legislation requires a decommissioning plan to be submitted at least two years before the production stops, Dong plans to submit the decommissioning plan in the third quarter of 2016.

Dong E&P Norway is operator of the field and holds a 55% licence interest. The licence partners are Bayerngas Norge and Noreco with 30% and 15% interest, respectively.

Offshore Energy Today has reached out to Dong in Norway seeking confirmation of these reports.

In an e-mail to Offshore Energy Today, Dong Energy spokesperson said that the Oselvar field has not lived up to its initial expectations.

“We are always looking for opportunities to optimize our portfolio, and as announced earlier the plan is to reuse parts of the Oselvar field’s infrastructure to transport oil and gas from the Centrica operated Butch discovery.”

The spokesperson further added: “The infrastructure used to transport and process oil and gas from Butch will mostly be the same as that used today for production from the Oselvar field. This will be a good solution for all parties. We will present a plan for decommissioning of the field to MPE in the course of 2016.”

The article has been amended to include a statement by Dong Energy

Offshore Energy Today Staff