Offshore staff
(North Sea) - Statoil has applied for a permanent production permit for its Gimle oil and gas field in the North Sea where pilot operations have been allowed so far.
Proven in 2004, the Gimle discovery lies in the Tampen area off western Norway, between the Gullfaks and Visund fields.
A well drilled from the Gullfaks C platform has produced almost 2 MMbbl of oil in the pilot production phase, Statoil said in a statement.
The field partners, which in addition to Statoil are Norway's state-owned Petoro, Norsk Hydro, ConocoPhillips, and Total, have agreed to drill two more wells from Gullfaks C in the next few years, Statoil said.
They will drill a water injector in 2006 and a producer in 2007.
"With this development solution, recoverable reserves are put at 25 MMbbl of oil and about 1 bcm of gas," Statoil said.
"Gimle is a good example of how we are constantly developing small fields near our platforms in a cost-efficient way," says Lars Christian Bacher, senior VP of the Tampen business cluster in Statoil's E&P Norway business area.
"Exploration close to our installations is important if we are to fully exploit the existing infrastructure."
01/25/06
