Drilling & Completion

OKEA expands drilling scope in North Sea Brage area

Feb. 8, 2024

OKEA is drilling new wells and assessing tieback options to extend the life of the Brage Field facilities in the Norwegian North Sea.

The Brage crude oil producer is operated by OKEA (35.2%) with partners Lime Petroleum AS (33.8%), DNO Norge AS (14.2%), Vår Energi ASA (12.2%) and M Vest Energy AS (4.4%).

Offshore staff

TRONDHEIM, Norway — OKEA is drilling new wells and assessing tieback options to extend the life of the Brage Field facilities in the Norwegian North Sea.

A currently drilling water injector, the Talisker East accumulation should start service before quarter-end, and a second producer will shortly be drilled on Talisker South-East.

At Fensfjord north, the partners have sanctioned an infill well, targeted to start up in the spring. And the new Sognefjord East project is reviewing the Kim discovery and the potential for further development of the area.

In the meantime, define phase studies continue for topside modifications to the Brage platform to accommodate a tieback of the 27.64-MMboe Brasse Field, if a commercial project looks feasible.

Nova is a crude oil and associated gas producer located 120 km northwest of Bergen and 17 km southwest of Gjøa.

Elsewhere in the North Sea, in fields where OKEA is a partner, a rig will drill a fourth water injector well at Nova in the second half of the year to improve water injection performance. The licensees are considering adding a new production well.

At Yme in the eastern North Sea, drilling of the C-7 injector should finish in the current quarter, with a review underway of a multi-lateral design for the planned C-3 sidetrack. An investment decision should follow shortly.

Last December, Norway’s Ministry of Energy approved the plan for development and operation and a further plan for construction and operation to electrify the Draugen and Njord A platforms in the Norwegian Sea.

Topside modifications and early scope installation work for the power from shore project continue. The goal is to reduce CO₂ emissions annually by 200,000 metric tons from Draugen, operated by OKEA, and by 130,000 metric tons/year from Njord (Equinor), along with reduced NO_X emissions of 1,250 mt from Draugen and 520 mt from Njord.