Issue at North Sea gas project has TotalEnergies considering impact on timeline for full capacity

After an issue sprung up at a recently restarted giant redevelopment project in the Danish sector of the North Sea, TotalEnergies EP Danmark, a subsidiary of France’s energy giant TotalEnergies, is contemplating the effect of this issue on the existing schedule for reaching full technical capacity at its natural gas project off the coast of Denmark.

The gas production from Tyra II, which is said to be Denmark’s largest natural gas field, was restarted in March 2024 more than four and a half years after it was stopped to embark on the extensive redevelopment of the project. While the export of gas from the Tyra facilities to Denmark will continue during the ramp-up period, TotalEnergies highlights that an operational occurrence has temporarily impacted the commissioning of the facilities.

“The duration of the testing program and commissioning plan for achieving the technical milestones and driving the ramp-up to 8,1 mcm/d technical capacity may be affected,” explained the operator of the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), which is a partnership between TotalEnergies (operator, 43.2%), BlueNord (36.8%), and Nordsøfonden (20%).

According to BlueNord, the operational occurrence at Tyra is related to the IP compressor temporarily impacting the commissioning of the new facilities during the output boosting and testing period. While teams are working to resolve the issue, TotalEnergies is now evaluating the potential impact on the timing to reach full technical capacity.

Following the re-establishment of the gas flow from Harald, Svend, Roar, and Valdemar, and the wells from the Tyra field, including Southeast, West, and East, the project is expected to deliver 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas per year, which amounts to 80% of the forecasted Danish gas production.

The gas from the Tyra hub is set to be delivered to Europe through two export pipelines to Nybro in Denmark and Den Helder in the Netherlands. The redeveloped project is anticipated to extend the Danish field’s life by 25 years, only constrained by the 2042 license expiry. Tyra is expected to produce 5.7 million cubic meters of gas and 22,000 barrels of condensate per day at a plateau.