Equinor to extend Alve field life by 15 years

Norwegian oil major Equinor has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use the facilities on the Alve field located offshore Norway beyond their original operating life.

The PSA said on Wednesday that the consent for operation of the Alve field expires on December 31, 2021. To recover the remaining reserves from the field, Equinor applied for consent to extend the operating life of the facilities on the field.

The offshore safety watchdog has now granted consent for the use of the facilities on the Alve field until December 31, 2036.

The Alve gas and condensate field, located in the Norwegian Sea, was discovered in 1990. The find led to the discovery of the Norne oil and gas field, which was proven in 1992 and brought on stream in 1997.

Alve was developed as a subsea satellite field tied back to the Norne field’s FPSO. The field came on stream in March 2009.

According to data from Equinor, recoverable reserves are estimated to be around 6,78 billion cubic meters of gas and 8.3 million barrels of condensate.

The Alve field was part of an asset swap agreement between Equinor and Faroe Petroleum which was completed in May this year.

Namely, the transactions were calibrated as a balanced swap when it comes to value with no cash consideration.

Faroe Petroleum gave up some of its interests in the non-producing Njord and Hyme redevelopment and Bauge development assets for interests Equinor-held Alve, Marulk, Ringhorne East, and Vilje fields.

It is also worth noting that the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) granted consent to Equinor for continuation of production on the Norne FPSO. The consent was given in February and applies from and including 2022 to March 2026.

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