Statoil gains green light for Utgard and Byrding plan

Statoil has informed that the plan for development and operation for the Utgard and Byrding fields in the North Sea has been approved by the authorities.

Plans for both fields were submitted to the authorities in August last year.

Utgard is a gas and condensate field on the Norwegian and UK continental shelf while Byrding is an oil and gas field north of the Troll field, off Norway.

“These projects will give valuable new volumes to the Sleipner and Troll field. Efficient utilization of existing infrastructure contributes to reducing the costs and make these developments profitable,” says Torger Rød, senior vice president for Project Development in Statoil.

Statoil said on Tuesday that capital expenditures for Utgard are projected at about NOK 3,5 billion ($412.2M) while the capex for Byrding is estimated to near NOK 1 billion ($117.8M).

Utgard

Statoil submitted the plan for Development and Operation (PDO) and the Field Development Plan (FDP) for the Utgard gas and condensate discovery in the North Sea to Norwegian and UK authorities on August 9, 2016.

Recoverable volumes from the field are estimated at 56 million barrels of oil equivalents. Utgard was discovered in 1982 and is located 21 kilometers from the Sleipner field. The discovery has been considered for development on several occasions in the past

Utgard straddles the UK-Norway median line, with the majority of the reserves being located on the Norwegian side.

The field development includes two wells in a standard subsea concept, with one drilling target on each side of the median line. The installations and infrastructure will be located in the Norwegian sector.

The gas in Utgard has a high CO2 content, and will benefit from carbon cleaning and storage facilities at Sleipner.

Utgard is planned to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The license ownership interests are as follows: Statoil (operator – 38,44%), Statoil (U.K.) Limited (38%), Lotos Exploration and Production Norge (17,36%) and KUFPEC Norway (6,20%).

Byrding

Statoil submitted the PDO of the Byrding oil and gas discovery, previously known as Astero, in the North Sea to government authorities on August 19, 2016.

Recoverable volumes are projected at approximately 11 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The Byrding development includes a duo-lateral well drilled from the existing Fram H-Nord subsea template through which oil and gas from Byrding will flow to Troll C.

The duo-lateral well to be drilled is approximately seven kilometers long, the first kilometers being shared by the two laterals.

In October 2016, Statoil agreed to acquire Wintershall Norge’s 25 percent interest in the Byrding project thus increasing its interest from 45 to 70 percent. The acquisition was completed in January.

The field is scheduled to come on stream in the third quarter of 2017. The project will thus yield a return in the same year as the majority of the investments are made.

The license ownership interests are as follows: Statoil (operator – 70%), Engie E&P Norway (15%) and Idemitsu Petroleum Norway (15%).