Statoil’s Troll B produces 1 billion barrels

Norwegian oil company Statoil has seen one billion barrels of oil equivalent produced from the Troll B platform since it came on stream on September 19, 1995.

Statoil said on Tuesday that its operated North Sea platforms Troll B and C combined were the largest oil producers on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) for the last three years.

Troll B is a floating process and accommodation platform with concrete hull, and Troll C is a floating process and accommodation platform with a steel hull. They produce from thin oil-bearing layers in the Troll West reservoir.

Troll B has produced almost three times more than the expected volume stated in the initial plan for development and operation (PDO).

When Troll B came on stream in 1995, nine oil wells and one gas injector had been pre-drilled. For more than 21 years the platform has delivered high oil volumes with excellent regularity. The average daily oil production has been 20,600 cubic meters. The 21-year-old produced an average of 12,000 cubic meters per day in 2016.

Over the years, based on the average oil price for the years in production, one billion barrels of oil from Troll B provided a revenue of NOK 268 billion ($30.7 billion). Around NOK 200 billion, or almost 75 percent, were channeled back to the Norwegian state through direct ownership and taxes.

Lars Høier, vice president of Troll operations, said: “The combined oil and gas produced from the Troll field so far represent values worth NOK 1300 billion. After 20 years of production Troll will probably be the highest oil producing field on the NCS for the fourth year in a row.”

Statoil said that Troll B has had a “flat” production profile over the past few years due to an efficient and active drilling program and that the company forecasts another 8-10 years of oil production on the platform.

In 2015, a new record was set when a distance of 145,000 meters was drilled in the reservoir. Statoil said that the budget aimed for start-up of 15 new wells in 2016.

Troll B is located around 100 kilometers west of Bergen and around 50 kilometers from the Oseberg field center. The distance between Troll A and Troll B is approximately 20 kilometers.