Minister Søviknes launches Ivar Aasen field

The Ivar Aasen field in the North Sea was officially opened earlier today (13 February) by Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Søviknes.

From left Øyvind Eriksen, chairman of the board in Aker BP and CEO in Aker , Minister of Petroleum and Energy Søviknes., Karl Johnny Hersvik CEO Aker BP), Bjørn Thore Ribesen (Offshore Installation Manager - Ivar Aasen) og Sverre Skogen (leder av Aker BPs Company Council.

“The development of Ivar Aasen is an important milestone for the oil industry, and represents significant values for the Norwegian society.” said Søviknes at the opening ceremony, which was conducted on the helideck on the Ivar-platform. This was the minister’s first visit to an oil platform.

Oil production from the Aker BP-operated field started on 24 December 2016, four years after the plan for development and operation (PDO) was submitted. The project has a total cost framework of nearly US$3.3 billion (NOK 27.4 billion). The development was completed on time and within budget – and with no serious incidents.

Ivar Aasen is a large and demanding project, with deliveries from all over the world. A total of more than 5000 people, primarily in Trondheim, London, Singapore, Arbatax (Sardinia), Stord and Oslo, have spent more than 17 million working hours on the Ivar Aasen project.

“Production start-up was a huge milestone for Aker BP as a company. This would not have been possible without skilled, safety-conscious employees and suppliers working closely together. We have achieved good results by working as a single team with a common goal – completely in line with our values,” Aker BP CEO, Karl Johnny Hersvik said.

Modern technology contributes to maximum efficiency in operation of the field. The organization on board the platform is closely integrated with the onshore organization via modern communication solutions. Operations are controlled from an operations center in Trondheim. Core offshore staffing during normal operations will consist of 21 people.

“We are building a strong, cost-effective Aker BP, whose goal is to become a standard-setting company on the Norwegian Shelf. Ivar Aasen has been organized, and will be operated, in a way that is completely in line with this strategy,” Hersvik said.

The recoverable reserves for the Ivar Aasen project are estimated at more than 200 MMboe. The field’s economic lifetime could be 20 years, depending on oil prices and production development.

Aker BP, which was established on 30 September 2016 following the merger of Det norske oljeselskap and BP Norge, has the vision of becoming the leading independent offshore exploration and production company. The company has activities and ownership in licenses along the entire Norwegian coast, from the southern part of the North Sea to the Barents Sea.

“Aker BP has considerable confidence in the Norwegian Shelf as an attractive area for investment. This applies within exploration, field development and, not least, operation and further development of the fields where we are the operator. In this landscape, start-up of production on Ivar Aasen is an important source of inspiration for us,” Øyvind Eriksen, chairman of the board in Aker BP and CEO in Aker said.

The Ivar Aasen field is located in the North Sea, about 175km west of Karmøy.
The field was discovered in 2008, and was assessed together with previous discoveries in the nearby area.

In December 2012, Det Norske submitted a plan for development and operation of the Ivar Aasen field to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE). The Storting (Norwegian Parliament) approved the plan on 21 May 2013.

The first oil was produced on 24 December 2016 – on time and within the budget.

The Ivar Aasen field is a coordinated development with the Edvard Grieg field, which is located 10km further southeast, and the export solutions are coordinated with this field. The gas is exported via the UK Shelf. The oil from the two fields is exported through a new pipeline from the Edvard Grieg field to the Grane oil pipeline, and further on to the Sture terminal. Ivar Aasen receives power from the Grieg platform.