Statoil: Fram C East starts production

Norwegian oil company Statoil has said that production has started from the Fram C East field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea through the Troll C production platform.

The Fram C East is a long production well drilled from the existing Fram subsea template. Production is tied back to Troll C.

Gas from the well will be transported to Kollsnes via Troll A, whereas oil will be piped to Mongstad for further processing.

Originally estimated at some NOK 800 million capital expenditures, the amount has now been reduced to some NOK 600 million thanks to a simple, smart well concept and significantly increased drilling efficiency, Statoil said.

“Fram C East is a small development project, but a key element of our plans to capture maximum value in the Fram area,” says Lars Høier, vice president operations, Troll and Fram.

“We are pleased to see that our targeted efforts to cut costs and improve profitability on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) have benefitted this development project. Fram C East has seen profitability rise from good to even better, and will see a positive cash flow as early as in 2016,” Høier adds.

Last week Statoil submitted the Plan for Development and Operation of Byrding (north of Fram) together with another partnership. Production from this field, too, is tied back to the Troll C platform.

“Our strong position and role in several partnerships in the Troll / Fram area give us flexibility and possibilities to generate high value by taking an overall approach to the area, maximising the use of the existing infrastructure. This represents good resource management, benefitting our partners, our owners, suppliers and society at large,” says Gunnar Nakken, senior vice president, Operations West.

Recoverable resources at Fram C East are estimated at 18.2 million barrels of oil and 1.6 billion sm3 of gas. Partners are Statoil (45 %), ExxonMobil (25%), Engie (15%), and Idemitsu (15%).