Statoil details scheme for Skuld in Norwegian Sea

Sept. 27, 2011
Statoil has submitted a development plan for the Skuld (ex-Dompap/Fossekall) field on the Halten Bank in the Norwegian Sea.

Offshore staff

STAVANGER, Norway – Statoil has submitted a development plan for the Skuld (ex-Dompap/Fossekall) field on the Halten Bank in the Norwegian Sea.

The company estimates recoverable reserves at 90 MMboe, mostly oil, and the project costs at almost $1.7 billion.

Skuld, in 350 m (1,148 ft) water depth, will be tied back to the Norne production ship under a fasttrack program via three standardized subsea templates with six production and three water injection wells. The tie-in will be achieved via a 14-in. (35.6-cm) production flowline and an umbilical.

Halfdan Knudsen, responsible for fasttrack field developments in Statoil, said: "According to the work plan, Skuld could be in production as early as the end of 2012. This would be around 2.5 years from when Dompap and Fossekall were discovered until production starts.”

Norne’s main field was discovered in 1992 and production began in 1997. Numerous satellites have since been tied into the production facilities.

"The original plan was for Norne to produce until 2016, but high recovery rates and new discoveries have contributed to extending the lifetime to 2021. New field phase-ins will mean good utilization of available capacity on the Norne production ship. This will further extend the lifetime and, in turn, lead to new exploration activity and further development in the Norne area. Now we are planning for Norne 2030," she says.

Skuld is the largest of Statoil’s current five fasttrack development projects on the Norwegian shelf. The company expects to have all five in operation in late 2012/early 2013, producing a total of nearly 90,000 b/d in 2014, of which Skuld will contribute more than half.

09/27/2011