A move to start up the world's first subsea wet gas compressor has been given final approval by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate as it moves close to coming on stream.
Statoil's Gullfaks Sør project is one of two subsea gas compression projects being developed in Norway, both of which are due to start up this year. The second is the Åsgard subsea compression system, also opreated by Statoil.
Yesterday, the NPD gave final consent for start-up and operation of new subsea wet gas compressor and umbilical on the Gullfaks field, in production license 050.
The compressor station and the umbilical installed on the seabed on Gullfaks will push the well stream from templates D, L, M, and N up. Production is scheduled to start no later than October 2015.
In addition to accelerating gas production and extending the period when the gas capacity on the Gullfaks C facility is utilized, the new infrastructure will increase the gas and condensate reserves from the reservoirs on Gullfaks Sør Brent and Rimfaks Brent. This also enables the realization of additional resources in the greater Gullfaks area.
"Technology development is a key to improved recovery and extended lifetime for fields on the Norwegian shelf," said Astri Fritsen, principal engineer at the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. "For Gullfaks, this gas compression means extended lifetime and an increase in the gas recovery rate from Gullfaks Sør Brent from 62-74%."
The Gullfaks project is the second major seabed gas compression project that will be initiated, after the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate granted consent for the start-up of Åsgard subsea compression in July 2015.
Image: Gullfaks map/ Statoil
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