Wintershall Dea Begins Installation Campaign on Dvalin North Field

Wintershall Dea AG, Petoro, and Sval Energi have started an installation campaign on the Dvalin North gas field with the installation of a subsea template on the seabed in the Norwegian Sea.

Dvalin North, the largest discovery in Norway in 2021, is a subsea field that will be tied back to the Heidrun platform via the company-operated Dvalin field. The field supports Wintershall Dea's strategy of exploring and developing in areas where the company already has infrastructure and good knowledge of the subsurface, the company said in a news release.

The newly installed four-slot template will accommodate three gas production wells. The spare slot will be available for future development of the field, according to the release.

“From discovery in 2021 to template installation already in the first half of 2024, the Dvalin North development is progressing well,” Wintershall Dea Dvalin North Project Manager Rikke Tittel said. “Our strategy is to quickly realize the value of our exploration success while making the most of our existing infrastructure”.

Wintershall Dea and its partners plan to drill three producing wells from a subsea template which is located 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) to the north of Dvalin. The field is estimated to hold around 84 million barrels of oil equivalent and the gas will be exported via the Polarled pipeline to Nyhamna near Kristiansund in central Norway. Dvalin North is expected to come onstream in late 2026, according to the release.

TechnipFMC's heavy subsea construction vessel North Sea Atlantic transported the 290-metric-ton template from the Aker Solutions yard in Egersund to the Dvalin North field in the Norwegian Sea, where it was installed on the seabed at a depth of 1,345 feet (410 meters). The template was manufactured in Poland by Mostostal Pomorze as part of the subsea production system supplied by OneSubsea and its partner Aker Solutions.

“Thanks to close cooperation with our key suppliers OneSubsea, Aker Solutions and TechnipFMC and their subcontractors, we were able to install the template six months ahead of schedule and, more importantly, safely,” Alastair Smith, Dvalin North Facilities Manager at Wintershall Dea, said.

Wintershall Dea Norge AS is the operator of the field with a 55 percent share, while Petoro AS owns 35 percent and Sval Energi AS 10 percent.

Meanwhile, the planned transfer of Wintershall Dea’s E&P business from BASF and LetterOne to Harbour Energy plc is now expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to approvals of merger control and foreign investment authorities in several countries, according to the release.

The parties in December 2023 signed a business combination agreement to transfer Wintershall Dea’s E&P business consisting of its producing and development assets as well as exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn) as well as Wintershall Dea’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) licenses to Harbour. Until closing, Wintershall Dea and Harbour will continue to operate as independent companies.

Wintershall Dea describes itself as a leading independent European gas and oil company with more than 120 years of experience as an operator and project partner along the entire E&P value chain. The company, which has headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg, Germany, explores for and produces gas and oil in 11 countries worldwide. With activities in Europe, Latin America and the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Wintershall Dea has a global upstream portfolio and is also active in the midstream business.

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