Norway approves two North Sea field developments

Norway’s ministry of energy has approved Aker BP’s development and operation plans for the Valhall Flank West and Skogul offshore fields. Aker BP submitted the plans on December 15, 2017.

The large Valhall oil field is located in the southern part of the Norwegian section of the North Sea. It has already been the subject of several development projects.

Valhall Flank Vest represents a further development of the field. The Valhall Flank West project aims to continue the development of the Tor formation in Valhall on the western flank of the field, with the startup of operation expected in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Valhall Flank West will be developed using a new Normally Unmanned Installation (NUI), tied back to the Valhall field center for processing and export.

The wellhead platform at Valhall Flank West will be fully electrified and will be designed to minimize the need for maintenance activities. The platform will be remotely operated from the Valhall field center.

Recoverable reserves for Valhall Flank West are estimated to be around 60 million barrels of oil equivalent. AkerBP, an operator, has estimated total investments of around NOK 5.5 billion.

Skogul tied to Alvheim FPSO

“It is positive that there is a lot of activity on Valhall and that further investments will be made in the development of the field through the development of Valhall Flanke Vest. Valhall is a field that has been in operation for a long time and will continue to produce for decades to come. The field has contributed enormous values to Norwegian society, “said Terje Søviknes, Minister of Petroleum and Energy

As for the Skogul field, it sits in the middle of the Norwegian part of the North Sea and is a smaller oil field with a marginal volume of associated gas. The development costs for the Skogul field are estimated at approximately NOK 1.5 billion.

The Skogul field is located 30 kilometers north of Alvheim FPSO and will be developed as a subsea tieback to Alvheim via Vilje.

Recoverable reserves are estimated to around 10 million barrels of oil equivalents. Production start is planned for first quarter 2020.

The production well at Skogul will be subsea production well number 35 in the Alvheim area.

“It’s important that companies get profitability from smaller discoveries. The Skogul field is just such a field and will contribute to value creation and government revenue. The development will largely be based on existing infrastructure. This type of development is an important part of the future on the Norwegian continental shelf, Søviknes said.