Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Equinor expects the Johan Sverdrup field in the central Norwegian North Sea to attain Phase 1 plateau production in early May, ahead of schedule.
Due to higher plant capacity, plateau output looks set to rise from the present 440,000 b/d of oil (from nine wells) to around 470,000 b/d (10 wells), a figure not anticipated until this summer.
Arne Sigve Nylund, Equinor’s executive vice president for Development and Production Norway, said: “With low operating costs Johan Sverdrup provides revenue and cashflow to the companies and Norwegian society at large in a period affected by the coronavirus and a major drop in the oil price.
“In today’s situation, co-operation between operators, suppliers, and authorities is more important than ever to maintain activity and value creation.”
According to Rune Nedregaard, vice president for Johan Sverdrup operations, “Field production has been very good and stable from day one, and the wells have produced even better than expected.
“We are currently completing the tenth well. This work is progressing smoothly, helping reach higher production earlier than expected.”
The field came onstream last October, more than two months ahead of the original schedule and NOK40 billion ($3.77 billion) below the original estimate for development and operation submitted in August 2015.
Break-even for the full-field development (Phase 2, which will include an additional platform) is below $20/bbl, and Equinor foresees operating costs of below $2/bbl.
At peak in Phase 2 the field is set to deliver 690,000 b/d of oil. Recoverable reserves are currently estimated at 2.7 Bboe, and Equinor is aiming for a recovery factor of more than 70%.
03/30/2020
