Snefrid Nord goes onstream ahead of schedule

Sept. 4, 2019

Offshore staff

STAVANGER, Norway – On Sept. 1, Equinor and its partners started production from the Snefrid Nord gas field, the first discovery tied back to the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea.

Recoverable resources for Snefrid Nord are estimated at 4.4 bcm of gas and some condensate. According to Equinor, this will extend plateau production from Aasta Hansteen by almost a year. On plateau Snefrid Nord is expected to produce 4 MMcm/d, with a forecast productive life of five to six years.

Aasta Hansteen came onstream in December 2018. Together with the Polarled pipeline the field opened a new region in the Norwegian Sea for gas export to Europe.

Geir Tungesvik, senior vice president for project development in Equinor, said: “Snefrid Nord has been delivered without any serious injuries, ahead of schedule, and within the cost estimate.”

It cost around NOK1.2 billion ($133 million) to develop Snefrid Nord. Originally the field was expected to start production at the end of 2019.

Snefrid Nord was discovered in 2015, and the field development was sanctioned in 2017. The concept includes one well in a subsea template tied back to the Aasta Hansteen field by a pipeline and an umbilical.

The template is installed at a water depth of 1,309 m (4,295 ft), making Snefrid Nord the deepest field development on the Norwegian continental shelf, according to Equinor.

“To a large extent the development has been performed in synergy with Aasta Hansteen. As the two projects have used several of the same suppliers,” Tungesvik said, “we have been able to combine campaigns and follow-up teams in Equinor and reuse technical solutions.”

The template and the suction anchor were delivered by Aker Solutions in Sandnessjøen, which also delivered the Aasta Hansteen template. The semisubmersible Transocean Spitsbergen drilled the well while drilling the Aasta Hansteen wells, and Subsea 7 installed the template in the same campaign as the Aasta Hansteen risers. Momek in Mo i Rana delivered the pipeline end termination for Snefrid Nord.

Snefrid Nord is the first field to be tied back to Aasta Hansteen. With the infrastructure in place, more satellites may be developed in the area.

Siri Espedal Kindem, senior vice president for operations north, said: “There are several interesting prospects and discoveries around us. The new infrastructure makes it possible to develop them and more attractive to explore around the platform and along the pipeline. There is high exploration activity and several discoveries already in the area.”

Equinor Energy AS is the operator and holds 51% interest. The partners are Wintershall Dea (24%) OMV (Norge) AS (15%), and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (10%).

09/04/2019

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