Offshore staff
PARIS – Total has started development of the $4.2-billionHild field in the Norwegian North Sea, although approval has yet to be issued by the Norwegian authorities.
This will be astand-alone project in a water depth of 115 m (377 ft), designed to access separate gas/condensate and oil reservoirs.
Centerpiece will be an integrated wellhead, production, and accommodation platform. Processed gas will be exported to St Fergus in northeast Scotland via a new pipeline linked to the existing Frigg UK system. Liquids will be sent to a dedicated storage vessel where water will be separated for reinjection, and oil will be exported via shuttle tankers.
Hild’s power needs will be supplied from the Norwegian mainland electrical grid via a new 170-km (105-mi) long cable, claimed to be the world’s longest alternating current (AC) power line from shore to an offshore platform. This solution is designed to comply with the government’s aim of curbing CO2 emissions from offshore activities.
The cable will also incorporate fiber optic links allowing the offshore facilities to be monitored and controlled from Total’s operations center in Stavanger. Production should start at end-2016 and reach 100,000 boe/d at peak.
2/2/2012
