Statoil Outlines Plan For Utgard Discovery In North Sea

Statoil presented a plan for development and operation of the British-Norwegian Utgard natural gas, NGL and condensate field in the North Sea. The estimated investment in the Utgard Field is US$413.99 million.

Norway’s Oil Minister Tord Lien told Reuters he expects oil companies to submit additional plans by year-end 2016 for development and operations of other offshore fields.

Statoil said Utgard is scheduled to come onstream at year-end 2019; in the plateau phase, the field will produce about 44 Mboe/d. The recoverable reserves are estimated at 56.4 MMboe.

The field, which was previously known as Alfa Sentral, will be remote-controlled from the Sleipner A platform and will be developed as a subsea facility tied back to the Sleipner Field, where CO₂ will be removed and stored in the ground.

About 60% of the resources are located on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, according to Statoil, which had previously estimated investments in the field to range between 4 billion Norwegian crowns and 4.5 billion Norwegian crowns.

“The project illustrates how measures to improve efficiency and productivity lead to new profitable field developments. The petroleum industry is, and will remain, Norway’s most important industry for years to come,” Tord Lien said in a separate statement.

As the operator, Statoil holds 100% of the British part of the Utgard Field and 62% of the Norwegian license. Lotos holds 28% of the Norwegian license, while Total holds 10%.

OMV Lowers Stake In Rosebank Project Offshore UK

In a move to further optimize its portfolio and reduce investment requirements, OMV has agreed to sell a 30% interest in the Rosebank oil and gas project offshore the U.K. to Suncor Energy.

The transaction, if approved by regulators, would leave OMV with a 20% interest in the project.

Under the terms of the agreement, Suncor will initially pay $50 million on closing, which is expected in fourth-quarter 2016, OMV said in a news release on Aug. 9. After OMV and partners Chevron North Sea Ltd. (40% interest) and DONG E&P (U.K.) Ltd. (10% interest) approve the Rosebank final investment decision, OMV could get up to $165 million more.

OMV, however, said it also is realizing a EUR 530 million pre-tax impairment, which will be booked in second-quarter 2016, for its 50% Rosebank stake.

Currently in the FEED phase, which began in 2012, the project will include an FPSO vessel, production and water injection wells as well as subsea facilities and a gas export pipeline. The field, discovered in 2004, is about 130 km (81 miles) northwest of the Shetland Islands in water depths of about 1,110 m (3,642 ft).

Erin Plans Nitrogen Lift For Oyo-8 Offshore Nigeria

After an emergency shutdown on July 1 at the Oyo-7 well offshore Nigeria, Erin Energy is planning efforts to bring the well back through use of a nitrogen lift via subsea infrastructure to the well, the company said in a statement.

The well’s high water content prevented production from resuming following a planned production curtailment in the Oyo Field. The incident resulted in a production loss of about 1,400 bbl/d of oil. Erin plans to perform the nitrogen lift following its next crude lifting, which is set for the week of Aug. 15.

Erin was, however, successful in bringing the Oyo-8 well back online after the Island Constructor vessel carried out light well intervention service to open the subsurface controlled subsurface safety valve, which Erin said had failed to reopen after the planned curtailment.

Meanwhile, the company is gearing up for the next drilling campaign, which kicks off in the fourth quarter, by procuring well and subsea equipment. “The Oyo-9 production well is planned as an additional development well within the central area of the Oyo Field in Oil Mining Lease 120 and will be tied into the existing production facilities to increase the company’s production by about 6,000 to 7,000 barrels of oil per day,” the company said.

‘World’s Largest Jackup Rig’ En Route To Mariner Field

Noble Corp. has tapped Aqualis Offshore to oversee the load-on, transportation and load-off operations of the first journey of the Noble Lloyd Noble, Aqualis said in a news release.

The jackup rig is being called the largest in the world by its builder Sembcorp Marine and Aqualis. The rig, which has an operational air gap of 69 m (226 ft), can operate in water depths of up to 150 m (492 ft) and has a maximum total drilling depth capacity of 10,000 m (32,808 ft). Its design is based on the GustoMSC CJ70 and Statoil’s Category J specifications.

As part of the contract, Aqualis said it will provide marine warranty services for the load-on, transportation and load-off operation of the jackup. The first leg of the journey is from Singapore to Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The rig’s ultimate destination is Statoil’s Mariner Field in the U.K. North Sea, Aqualis said.

Expro Secures Well Testing Contract In India

India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. (ONGC) has turned to Expro for well testing for assets, including assets offshore Mumbai, onshore Rajamundry and the Krishna Godavari Basin.

The contracts, which total more than $17 million, are for three years. Expro said the contracts comprise its 15K and 10K surface well testing packages for HP/HT and conventional wells.

Two sets of 15K surface well test packages will be delivered for 10 offshore and 22 onshore wells in eastern India. The onshore package will be deployed for the testing of exploratory and completed wells onshore at Rajahmundry, Expro said.

Four sets of 10K packages will be delivered offshore Mumbai and includes the provision of a well test supervisor and operator on a call-out basis. Plans are to use the 10K packages for production testing of exploratory wells in addition to testing, flow back and measurement of worked-over and platform wells, the company said.

Statoil Taps Claxton For Huldra Decommissioning

Claxton, an Acteon company, is set to begin the “rigless recovery” of seven abandoned wells on the Huldra platform in December after Statoil awarded the company a contract.

The company will be responsible for the full scope of decommissioning work, including project planning, severance and full multiple string recovery. The project in the Norwegian Continental Shelf is expected to be complete within 21 days.

The company said it will use its SABRE unit, an abrasive cutting system, and its recovery tower for conductor and casing severance for the project.

—Reuters & Staff Reports

Offshore