Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – ConocoPhillips Scandinavia and its partners in the Tor Unit have started production from Tor II in the southern Norwegian North Sea.
The Tor II project is a redevelopment of the Tor field, which was in production from 1978 through 2015. It is the first redevelopment of a shut-in field on the Norwegian continental shelf, according to the company.
Production began 12 months after the Norwegian authorities approved the plan for development and operation.
Tor II is a two-by-four slot subsea production system (SPS) with eight production wells. The SPS is connected to the Ekofisk complex by multi-phase production and gas lift pipelines to existing risers at the Ekofisk 2/4 M wellhead platform.
Controls and utilities are provided through a service umbilical from the same platform. The new greenfield facilities are about 1 km (0.6 mi) west of the original Tor platform.
ConocoPhillips plans to drill seven production wells in the Tor formation and a pilot well to test long-term productivity in the Ekofisk formation. It is pursuing recovery in the range of 60-70 MMboe. Two well are producing.
The Tor II project is one of several development opportunities in the Greater Ekofisk Area that enable continued operations toward 2050, the company said.
Total capital investments are now estimated at NOK 6.4 billion ($730 million) gross. The Tor II project has a Brent cost of supply less than $30.
“Having produced the Tor field for 37 years, we are proud to continue to extend development enabling an expected production lifetime beyond 60 years,” said Steinar Vaage, president, Europe, Middle East & North Africa. “Tor II is utilizing available Greater Ekofisk Area capacity for processing and transportation.”
Discovered in 1970, the Tor field is a unitized chalk field located in licenses PL018 and PL006 in blocks 2/4 and 2/5, about 13 km (8 mi) northeast of the Ekofisk field. The original development comprised a single manned production platform, Tor 2/4 E, from which oil and associated gas was exported, via pipeline, to the Ekofisk complex.
Operator ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS currently holds 30.66% ownership of the Tor Unit, while the remaining stake is held by Total E&P Norge AS (48.20%), Vår Energi AS (10.82%), Equinor Energy AS (6.64%), and Petoro AS (3.69%).
12/03/2020
