Aker BP close to sanctioning two North Sea development, decommissioning projects

Aker BP continues to identify infill drilling opportunities close to its production hubs in the Norwegian North Sea, the company revealed in its latest results overview.

It plans to start drilling one infill well in the Alvheim area in the current quarter, followed by first oil in Q4. Two wells are lined up this summer on the Edvard Grieg field in the Utsira High area, while in the southern North Sea, the Valhall partners have recently sanctioned two further infill wells.

Subsea installations have started for the current Utsira High project’s two tiebacks:  Symra, to be connected to the Ivar Aasen platform, and Solveig Phase 2 to the Edvard Grieg platform. Drilling will start shortly, with first production in both cases anticipated next year.

For the multi-field Yggdrasil development, the initial sections of the 255-km subsea power cable have been installed, with the Subsea Alliance preparing to start pipelay operations later this year.

New data from OBN seismic surveys and exploration wells have improved reservoir understanding of the Yggdrasil area, supporting more optimal well placement. The semisub Deepsea Stavanger should start drilling in the latter part of the year.

By mid-2025, Aker BP expects to take FID on the 2023 oil discovery at East Frigg Beta/Epsilon, following selection of the development concept. This will be integrated into the Yggdrasil infrastructure.

There remains substantial exploration potential in the area, with various targets scheduled for drilling this summer.

Last month, a newly drilled sidetrack well on the Tambar field delivered first oil, however production from the surrounding Ula area is set to end in 2028. The partners are aiming to take a concept select decision for the decommissioning program in the second half of this year.

At the Equinor-operated Johan Sverdrup field center, two further wells have been completed and brought onstream, bringing the total number of producers to 41. A four-well retrofit multilateral campaign, adding new lateral branches to existing production wells, is set to get under way shortly.

In the Norwegian Sea, Aker BP’s recent exploration well on the E-prospect in production license led to a discovery, with reserves estimates at 3-7 MMboe. A review will follow for a potential tieback to the Skarv FPSO.

Drilling of production wells for the Skarv Satellite Project should begin later in 2025.