Production has started at Equinor’s Statfjord Øst’s life extension project six months ahead of schedule. The project has involved the installation of a pipeline from Statfjord C to Statfjord Øst, where five new wells (sidetracks) will eventually be drilled with gas lift and new Christmas trees.
Two new wells have already been drilled from existing subsea templates, and the project includes a modification on Statfjord C and laying of a new pipeline for gas lift to the subsea wells.
Statfjord Øst, located five kilometers from Statfjord C, originally started producing in 1994.
Equinor and its partners expect to increase production by 26 million barrels of oil equivalents from Statfjord Øst. The profitability is high, and the value of increased production equals around NOK 20 billion at the current oil price.
“This proves the importance of extending the life of mature fields and maximizing value creation from existing infrastructure on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS), says Camilla Salthe, Equinor’s senior vice president for Field Life eXtension (FLX). The project contributes to extending the life of Statfjord C to 2040.
Equinor aims to be a leading operator of late-life fields on the NCS. “That means that we need to find new ways of working to reduce costs. Together with our partners we have developed simpler and faster solutions while maintaining high quality,” says Ketil Rongved, Equinor’s vice president for FLX projects.
The oil recovery rate from the field is expected to rise from 58 to 63% as a result of this project.
The original oil volume in place in Statfjord Østt is 410 million barrels.
Licence partners in Statfjord Øst Unit are: Equinor Energy (29.25%), Petoro (30%), Vår Energi (20.55%), Okea (14.0%) , INPEX Idemitsu Norge (4.8%), and Wintershall Dea Norge (1.4%)