Compressors extend lifespan of Statoil fields offshore Norway

Sept. 22, 2014
A new compressor began operating last week on the Statoil-operated Kvitebjørn field platform in the Norwegian North Sea.

Offshore staff

STAVANGER, Norway – A new compressor began operating last week on the Statoil-operated Kvitebjørn field platform in the Norwegian North Sea.

It is expected to increase production by 220 MMboe, lift the field’s recovery rate from 55-70%, and extend its lifetime by eight years to 2035, Statoil says.

Pressure in the reservoir has gradually fallen as the oil and gas has been produced. By lowering the pressure also on the platform, more should be produced. Rosenberg Worley Parson Group in Stavanger supplied the 1,000-metric ton (1,102-ton) module which was installed during summer of 2013.

This is the first phase of pre-compression on Kvitebjørn. Space has been left in the new module for a potential second pre-compression phase.

Rich gas from Kvitebjørn is piped to Kollsnes near Bergen for processing, with the condensate sent via the Kvitebjørn oil pipeline, which ties into the Troll Oil Pipeline II, to Mongstad.

Elsewhere offshore Norway, Statoil started up another compressor on theKristin field platform in the Norwegian Sea this summer, which is designed to increase light oil recovery by 160 MMbbl and to the prolong the field’s lifespan until 2034. Another on Heidrun in the same sector should start up later in the fall, helping to recover an additional 7.5 MMbbl of oil.

At Troll in the North Sea, two new compressors will increase recovery by 522 MMboe, prolonging the field’s lifetime from 2045 to 2063.

At Åsgard in the Norwegian Sea, the world’s first seabed compressor is expected to help recover an extra 280 MMboe, while at Gullfaks in the North Sea, the world’s first seabed compressor for rich gas should recover a further 22 MMboe from the field.

09/22/2014