ExxonMobil Sells 15 Pct Stake in Aasta Hansteen Field to OMV (Norway)

On July 12, OMV signed an agreement to acquire a 15% stake in the Aasta Hansteen field (formerly Luva, Production Licence 218/218 B) from ExxonMobil and an increase of its share by 6.15% in the Norwegian Sea Gas Infrastructure (NSGI) project.

The deal is subject to approval by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The Aasta Hansteen development contains three significant gas discoveries in the Vøring Basin, in the Northern Norwegian Sea. The expected recoverable net volume is estimated at 40 – 60 mn boe of gas and 0.8 – 1.0 mn boe of condensate in a water depth of approximately 1,300 m.

The Aasta Hansteen field was originally discovered in 1997 and lies 300 km offshore in the Vøring Basin. Statoil has been operating the field since 2006. Co-venturers are OMV with a 15% stake and ConocoPhillips with a 10% stake. The field development is currently in the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase. The final investment decision by the co-venturers is scheduled for Q4/12.

The acquisition will provide OMV with recoverable resources of 43 mn boe from three discoveries. Additional exploration potential upside is identified which may contribute at a later stage. Production is currently planned to start in Q4/16 and is currently estimated to provide OMV with 18,000 boe/d net in 2017.

Jaap Huijskes, OMV Executive Board Member responsible for Exploration and Production: “I´m glad to see that OMV’s strategy in Norway starts to bear fruit. This is the second acquisition in the Northern Norwegian Sea within a year. We are well on track to establish Norway as a core country in our Exploration and Production portfolio.”

The acquisition also includes a 6.15% stake in the NSGI project. Together with its share gained through the Zidane acquisition in December 2011, OMV holds a total of 7.9 % in NSGI. The scope of the NSGI project, which is in the FEED phase as well, comprises a 480 km long 36” pipeline from Aasta Hansteen field to the Nyhamna gas processing plant and an expansion of the Nyhamma gas plant. The pipeline will also allow the connection of the Linnorm and Zidane fields, where OMV has a 20% stake, as well as possible tie-ins of other discoveries.

NSGI is operated by Statoil. Partners are OMV, Centrica, ConocoPhillips, Edison, E.ON Ruhrgas, GDF SUEZ, Maersk, Petoro, RWE Dea, Shell and TOTAL.

Spar Hull

Statoil, the operator of the field, on wednesday sent a Letter of Intent to Technip for the engineering, procurement, construction and transportation of the Aasta Hansteen Spar hull, the mooring systems as well as the design of the steel catenary risers. A Spar is a cylindrical, partially submerged offshore drilling and production platform that is particularly well adapted to deepwater.

The Aasta Hansteen Spar will be the first Spar deployed in Norwegian waters, the first Spar concept chosen by Statoil and the largest ever built with a total hull length of 195 meters.

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Offshore Energy Today Staff, July 13, 2012