Statoil: Fast-Track Projects Get Green Light

Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on Friday approved the plans for development and operation (PDO) of the Stjerne and Vigdis North-East fields. All four of Statoil's first fast-track projects have now secured the go-ahead. PDOs for the other two projects, Hyme and Visund South, were approved in June. All four projects were launched in January 2010.

"Getting a green light for the first part of the portfolio represents an important milestone for us," says Halfdan Knudsen, who heads Statoil's fast-track developments off Norway. "The concept is well established, and new candidates are being added to the list continuously. We're keeping up the pace."

Three out of four discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) have been classified as small since 2007. Most are eligible for the fast-track portfolio if they can be tied back to existing production facilities.

Template

Vigdis North-East is to be developed with a four-slot seabed template tied back to Snorre A, which stands about seven kilometers away. The Snorre area of the North Sea possesses established infrastructure as well as spare processing capacity on the installations. Oil and gas flowing from Vigdis North-East will be carried in a new pipeline to an existing template on Vigdis B and then on to Snorre A.

Injection

Earlier called Katla, Stjerne will also be developed with a four-slot subsea template. Two wells will produce, while the others are for water injection to help maintain reservoir pressure. Oil from the field will be piped to Oseberg South, with the gas used as pressure support in Oseberg Omega North to boost output from that reservoir.

"The first four fields with approved PDOs will give us experience and allow us to stake out a continued commitment to fast-track developments," says Knudsen.

Vigdis North-East

• Location: Tampen area of the Norwegian North Sea
• Recoverable volumes: 25 million barrels of oil equivalent
• Investment: NOK 4.2 million in current money
• Discovered: 2009
• Due on stream: 2012-13
• Licensees: Statoil (operator) 41.5%, Petoro 30%, ExxonMobil 10%, Idemitsu 9.6%, Total 5.6% and RWE Dea Norge 2.8%

Stjerne

• Location: 13 kilometers south-west of Oseberg South in the Norwegian
• North Sea Recoverable volumes: 45 million barrels of oil equivalent
• Investment: NOK 5.4 million in current money
• Discovered: 2009
• Due on stream: 2013
• Licensees: Statoil (operator) 49.3%, Petoro 33.6%, Total E&P Norge 10%, ExxonMobil E&P Norway 4.7% and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia 2.4%