Statoil: Statfjord field passes five billion barrels mark

Norway’s minister of petroleum and energy Tord Lien together with Statoil, Centrica, and ExxonMobil celebrated the five billion barrels of oil equivalent delivered by Statfjord since first oil in 1979.

Statfjord was discovered by Mobil in 1974. Statoil assumed the operatorship for Statfjord on January 1, 1987.

The Norwegian oil major has a 44.34 percent stake in the field with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway, Centrica Resources Norge and Centrica Resources Limited as partners with 21.37, 19.76 and 14.53 percent stakes, respectively.

The Norwegian part of the Statfjord  field is located in blocks 33/9 and 33/12 in license 037. The UK part of the field is located in the UK block 211/25 in licenses 104 and 293.

According to Statoil’s statement on Monday, the Norwegian minister got the honor of filling the barrel, decorated in golden color.

Arne Sigve Nylund, Statoil’s executive vice president for Development and Production Norway, said: “The spin-offs created by Statfjord can hardly be exaggerated. Generating more than NOK 1500 billion ($181 billion) in revenues and 200 000 direct and indirect man-years since the 1970s the field has been of great importance to the Norwegian society.”

Statoil said on Monday that even though the field has been on stream for a generation, it is still planned to work at least until 2025. Also, Statoil said it initially planned to extract 40 percent of oil at Statfjord. At the moment, that figure stands at a ‘record-high’ 67 percent.

Nylund added: “Statfjord was supposed to be shut down more than ten years ago. Instead, technology development, smart solutions, and clever decisions have extended the productive life and increased the level of activity. This is characteristic of Norwegian oil history and something we will build on in Statfjord’s next chapter and on the NCS for many decades to come.”

Increased production four years in a row

Statoil said that Statfjord was able to increase its production for the fourth consecutive year. So far, 451 wells have been drilled on the field, and more than 40 years after the field was discovered new profitable wells are still being drilled.

Also, Statfjord’s drilling costs have been reduced by 50 percent while more than one million meters have been drilled at the field.

Oil and gas production

In 2005, the field was converted from an oil field to a gas field. Although it is still producing oil, NOK 23 billion ($2.8 billion) was invested, and production was maintained during the conversion process. The work included the drilling of 70 new wells and extensive modifications to the platforms.

The fact that Statfjord will be on stream until 2025 means that it will still be producing when the Johan Sverdrup field starts its 50-year production.