Norway: Low-Pressure Field Production to Boost Production and Prolong Lifetime of Njord Field

Statoil and its partners in the Njord licence in the Norwegian Sea have decided to invest in low-pressure field production. This, combined with other measures, will prolong the lifetime of the field until 2020. Reservoir pressure on Njord is falling and the field has entered tail-end production. By lowering the pressure on the first and second stage separators it will be possible to increase production from individual wells and maintain production in each for an extended period.

“Owing to the complexity of the Njord reservoir the recovery rate of proven resources is currently roughly 23%. The aim is to increase the recovery rate to 30%. This type of measure is important with a view to maintaining production on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS),” states Ivar Aasheim, head of NCS field development.

There is currently a great deal of activity in the Njord area. The Njord northwest flank project six kilometres northwest of the Njord platform is now being carried out. It consists of two new long-distance wells drilled directly from Njord and tied back to the platform.

Several wells will be drilled in coming years. In addition, Hyme fast-track is being processed via Njord.

“In combination with the low-pressure production project these measures will prolong the lifetime of Njord until 2020,” explains Njord production head Arve Rennemo.

The low-pressure production project on Njord will boost volumes by roughly 18.5 million barrels of oil equivalents alone and extend the field’s working life by two to three years.

Investments in low-pressure production amount to roughly NOK 500 million.

The contracts for Njord low-pressure production modification and the Hyme topside has been awarded to Reinertsen. The contract for compressor procurement and installation was awarded in March of this year to GE Oil & Gas.

Project execution will take place in the autumn of 2012 and the start-up of low pressure production on Njord is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2012.

The Njord field has been developed with a floating steel platform, Njord A, which has an integrated deck with drilling and processing facilities, as well as living quarters.

During the first phase of the field’s lifetime, the oil was recovered using 11 production wells, while four injection wells sent the gas back down into the reservoir, to provide pressure support.

Altogether, NOK 1.15 billion has been invested in equipment for gas export, while NOK 450 million has been invested in new production wells.

The field produces around 20,000 barrels of oil per 24-hour period, while gas exports is average six million cubic meters per 24-hour period.

Oil transportation

The oil from Njord is transported by pipeline from the platform to the storage vessel Njord Bravo, which is anchored right next to the platform.

The vessel has an oil storage capacity of 110,000 cubic meters, and is anchored to a tower buoy, which in turn is fastened to the sea floor by an eight-point anchoring system.

The oil is then transferred from Njord Bravo to an oil tanker, for transportation to the market.

Gas transportation

Gas from the Njord field is exported through a 40 kilometre pipeline tied back to the Åsgard Transport pipeline. Åsgard Transport links the field with the Kårstø gas processing plant and the trunklines onward to the European gas market

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Source: Statoil, June 22, 2011;