Njord A; Credit: Elisabeth Sahl & Øyvind Gravås; Copyright: Equinor

Neptune kicks off production from oil & gas field off Norway

Oil and gas company Neptune Energy has brought on stream an oil and gas field in the Norwegian Sea off Norway, which has been tied back to the Equinor-operated Njord A platform.

Njord A; Credit: Elisabeth Sahl & Øyvind Gravås; Copyright: Equinor

Following the beginning of the phased drilling programme on the Fenja field back in April 2020, the final campaign started in October 2021. The wells were drilled using the Deepsea Yantai, a semi-submersible rig, operated by Odfjell Drilling.

In an update on Friday, 28 April 2023, Neptune Energy reported the start of production at the Fenja oil and gas field in the Norwegian Sea. This field is expected to produce 35,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd gross), via two oil producers, with pressure support from one water injector and one gas injector.

According to the company, the development consists of two subsea templates tied back to Equinor’s Njord A platform and a 36 km electrically trace-heated (ETH) pipe-in-pipe solution, which transports oil from the Fenja field to the platform for processing and transport.

Back in 2016, the production from the Njord field was temporarily halted, so that, the field facilities – Njord A platform and Njord Bravo storage vessel – could be upgraded. As part of the upgrade, the platform was prepared to bring the nearby Bauge and Fenja fields on stream.

After the upgrades were completed in 2022, the platform was delivered to Equinor in March last year. Neptune holds a 22.5 per cent owner share in Njord A which is located 120 kilometres north of Kristiansund.

Odin Estensen, Neptune Energy’s Managing Director in Norway and the UK, commented: “The Fenja development is an excellent example of how our industry uses innovative technologies to overcome challenges.

“The ETH pipe-in-pipe solution is crucial for transporting the oil, and is a creative, cost-effective approach that enables the field to be tied back to existing infrastructure. Fenja is also located in a strategically important growth area for Neptune Energy, with a number of other interesting prospects nearby.”

Fenja field; Source: Neptune Energy
Fenja field; Source: Neptune Energy

Furthermore, Neptune explains that the contents of the pipeline need to be warmed up to a temperature above 28 degrees Celsius before starting the flow after a shutdown due to the high wax content of the Fenja field’s oil. The temperature in the pipeline is well above this during normal production.

The company says that the tie-back to Njord A is the world’s longest ETH subsea production pipeline. The total reserves at the field are estimated between 50 and 75 million boe, of which 75 per cent is oil and 25 per cent is gas.

The Fenja field is located 120 km north of Kristiansund at a water depth of 325 metres. Neptune Energy is the operator of the field with a 30 per cent interest while its partners are Vår Energi (45 per cent), Sval Energi (17.5 per cent), and DNO (7.5 per cent).

Erik Oppedal, Neptune’s Projects and Engineering Director in Norway, remarked: “The ETH pipeline represents an important technological step, made possible through excellent collaboration between TechnipFMC and Neptune Energy. It could also unlock opportunities to develop future tie-back developments.”

This comes only a day after Neptune started production from the 11th well at its operated gas field in the North Sea, supporting the United Kingdom’s efforts to ensure more domestic gas and strengthen its security of energy supply.

Related Article

Moreover, the new well is expected to produce approximately 4,000 boepd, which is enough gas to heat about 200,000 UK homes.