Statoil and its partners submitted an amendment to the plan for development and operations (PDO) for the Gullfaks license to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for phase 1 of the Shetland/Lista development. Investment costs are estimated at some US$114.7 million (NOK 900 million).
Phase 1 of the development is expected to add 18 MMboe and will help increase the resilience of the area for continued operation of the Gullfaks platforms in the North Sea, reports Statoil.
“Targeted efforts are underway to cut costs and increase the profitability of our projects. By utilizing the existing infrastructure, we manage to recover new resources at a lower cost, thus sustaining profitable production and long-term activities on the Norwegian continental shelf,” says Ivar Aasheim, senior vice president for field development on the NCS.
The development concept will reuse existing wells (a total of 15) from the Gullfaks platforms and will not require new infrastructure, in an effort to increase profitability.
Shetland/Lista has been producing under a test production license since 2013. The submitted plan defines longer term development of these resources. This plan is the first phase of the development, which involves depressurization down to bubble point pressure in the reservoir.
“Gullfaks has been a unique industrial venture,” says Kjetil Hove, senior vice president for west operations development and production in Norway. “Since first oil in December 1986, the field has produced more than 2.56 billion bbl of oil and exported more than 70 Bsm3 of gas. The current recovery rate on the main Gullfaks field is 59%, and with a productive life towards 2036. Our aim is to further increase this rate.”
Statoil continues its efforts to maintain pressure to improve recovery rates. The Shetland Group and Lista formations have different properties compared with the deeper deposits of the Brent Group, where the main Gullfaks reservoirs are located. The producing interval in Shetland/Lista consists of thin limestone beds that are fractured and thus contribute to good productivity, which was initially established in December 2012 and was confirmed through perforations in three existing Gullfaks wells that warranted commercial development of the play.
Image: Ivar Aasheim, head of field development on the Norwegian continental shelf, submits the amendment to the PDO for the Gullfaks licence to Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Tord Lien, on 30 June. / Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland - Statoil
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