OKEA updates measures to extend production at Draugen platform offshore mid-Norway

OKEA expects to start drilling the Garn West South production well later this month in the Norwegian Sea, lifting output through the Draugen platform, according to the company's third-quarter results update.

However, the company has reduced its reserve estimate for Hasselmus, a subsea tieback to the platform, following greater than expected reservoir pressure development, which will increase the risk of earlier water ingress.

As for the Draugen – Power from Shore project, all subsea power cable activities have finished, and construction of the onshore facilities is on schedule, with the switchgear facilities handed over to the regional grid provider for the start of high-voltage installation.

The project, which is due to be completed in 2028, should reduce CO₂ emissions from Draugen by about 200,000 MMt/year and from the Njord production complex by 130,000 MMt/year, with associated cuts in NO_x emission from both field centers.

In addition, the project should lead to increased gas exports from Draugen and extend the economic life of the Draugen Field. 

Elsewhere in the Norwegian sector, OKEA is a partner to Aker BP in the Ivar Aasen development in the North Sea. Here, a new 4D seismic campaign is due to start next spring, followed by first oil from the IOR26 campaign in fourth-quarter 2026.

OKEA has also farmed into the Aker BP-operated PL 1153, 35 km north of the Gjøa platform, where drilling of the Alpehumle prospect should begin in first-quarter 2026.

Moreover, the company and its partners in the PL 1119 Mistral S discovery, thought to contain 19 MMboe to 44 MMboe recoverable, have agreed to also drill the Mistral N prospect.