StatoilHydro Awards Subsea Compression Contract on Gullfaks South

StatoilHydro

A contract to develop a solution for subsea wet gas compression which could extend the production life of Gullfaks South has been awarded to Norway’s Framo Engineering by operator StatoilHydro.

This technological advance aims to improve recovery of natural gas which contains condensate (light oil) and water – a mix known as wet gas.

Subsea gas compression could boost recovery from Gullfaks in the Norwegian North Sea.

The goal is to boost recoverable gas reserves in Gullfaks South by three billion standard cubic metres, a 6% increase from the current estimate.

Located in the North Sea, this satellite field is tied back to the Gullfaks C platform by three 15-kilometre pipelines.

Developing a simple and cheap solution for getting more out of smaller fields is important for StatoilHydro.

“With this technology, we’ll be able compress gas closer to the reservoir rather than on the platform,” says Ingrid Hønsi, who heads the Gullfaks 2030 development.

This project, which embraces the work on seabed compression for wet gas, is looking at opportunities to extend the production life of the field.

“Subsea compression will allow us to make better use of the electrical power and draw gas from the reservoir to the platform more easily – thereby improving recovery,” says Ms Hønsi.

The aim is to make this technology sufficiently robust for it to be applicable to more and larger fields.

“Our clear position in subsea technology reflects an aggressive application of new solutions,” notes Bjørn Kåre Viken, head of marine technology and operations in Technology & New Energy.

StatoilHydro has awarded the contract to Framo on behalf of the Gullfaks licensees. The other member of this partnership is Petoro.
 


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