Two subsea templates have been installed for the Wintershall Dea operated Nova project offshore Norway, marking the first operational landmark for the new company formed from the May 1 merger of Wintershall and DEA.
The Nova oil field, located in the Norwegian North Sea, 120 kilometers northwest of Bergen, is being developed with the two subsea templates tied back to the nearby Neptune-operated Gjøa platform in the North Sea. Gjøa will receive the well stream, and provide water injection and gas lift to the Nova field. A new module will be lifted onto Gjøa in 2020.
Subsea 7’s Seven Arctic vessel sailed the two 300-metric-ton templates 45 kilometers from the base in Florø to the Nova field, before craning the structures 370 meters below the ocean surface. The templates were constructed by Aker Solutions in Egersund on the west coast of Norway.
Wintershall Dea said 65 kilometers of pipelines are now ready to be laid in preparation for the tieback.
André Hesse, Wintershall Dea Nova Project Director, said, “With the installation of these two templates we have successfully begun the subsea campaign for 2019. In close cooperation with our key suppliers, we have employed a ‘One-Team’ approach to building Nova, focusing on the shared goal of delivering the field efficiently and safely. Using experienced Norwegian suppliers, we now take the next step in delivering the Nova field for the benefit of our partners, shareholders, supply chain and the whole of Norwegian society.”
Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Dea Chief Technology Officer, said, “As the first major subsea delivery for the Nova project, and for Wintershall Dea as a merged business, the installation of these two templates marks an important milestone for our global operations and a signal of our ambition to invest capital and expertise in our core regions around the world.”
Wintershall Dea holds a 45% share as Nova operator. Its partners in the project include Capricorn Norge AS (a fully owned subsidiary of Cairn Energy PLC) (20%), Spirit Energy Norge AS (20%) and Edison Norge AS (15%).
The expected recoverable reserves from Nova are around 80 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), of which the majority will be oil. The partnership is investing almost €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) in the development of the Nova field, which is expected to come on stream in 2021.
Alv Solheim, Managing Director in Norway, said, “The Nova field is a cornerstone of Wintershall Dea’s growth ambitions in Norway, adding significant barrels to our operated production when it comes on stream in 2021, and underlining our position as one of the leading subsea operators on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.”