Statoil Makes Askeladd Splash

Statoil and its partners have decided to invest just over NOK 5 billion ($643 million) in the further development of the Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea, which will provide feedstock for the LNG plant at Melkøya in Hammerfest.

The development of Askeladd is part two of the multi-phased Snøhvit development.

The Askeladd development will supply 21 billion cubic metres of gas and two million cubic metres of condensate to Hammerfest LNG, and production is scheduled to come on stream towards the end of 2020.

“This is the next step in the development of Snøhvit. Askeladd will help maintain a plateau production rate at the Hammerfest LNG plant until 2023 and is a profitable investment that will help secure jobs and ripple effects in the region,” says Torger Rød, Statoil’s senior vice president for project development.

Askeladd will be developed with three wells via two new subsea templates with space for additional wells in the future. In addition, an infrastructure will be installed to tie-in the Askeladd development to existing Snøhvit field infrastructure.

The Askeladd development will contribute to increased activity at the Polar Base in the project period, and Aker Solutions has been awarded the contract for the two subsea templates. Additional contracts will be awarded in the following months.