Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Equinor has produced first oil from the Bauge Field via a subsea tieback to the upgraded Njord A platform in the southern Norwegian Sea.
Bauge, with estimated recoverable reserves of 50 MMboe, produces through two wells connected to a subsea template, with pipelines and an umbilical linking the wells to the Njord A platform. From there, production is offloaded to the Njord Bravo FSO, recently refurbished by Aibel.
Final capex was within budget at NOK4.6 billion ($442 million). Main suppliers of the subsea equipment were Randaberg Industries, Ocean Installer and OneSubsea, while Transocean and Schlumberger delivered the wells ahead of schedule.
Original developer Norsk Hydro brought the Njord Field onstream in 1997. In 2016 Equinor shut down operations with the platform and FSO dispatched to yards in western Norway for overhauls to ensure a further 20 years of service.
Following re-delivery to the field center, Njord resumed production last December. Equinor aims to produce a further 250 MMboe from fields in the area over the next two decades.
“By utilizing existing infrastructure, we can realize profitable development of small-size discoveries in line with the company's strategy,” said Grete B. Haaland, senior vice president for E&P North. “We are planning further exploration activity in the area."
Other partners in Bauge include Wintershall Dea, Vår Energi and Neptune Energy.
Odin Estensen, managing director of Neptune’s Norway and UK divisions, said the company expects net production going forward of 20,000 boe/d from the Njord Area (including the redeveloped Hyme subsea tieback), making it the company’s second largest producing hub in Norway.
Later this month, Njord A should also be ready to receive production from the Neptune-operated Fenja Field.
04.17.2023
