Statoil and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg officially opened the company's new Gudrun platform, on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
|
| Gudrun installation. Photo from Statoil, Eli Skjæveland Tengesdal |
The Gudrun reservoir is 4200m-4700m deep and originates from the Jurassic Age. Production started in April 2014. Statoil says the platform will produce from seven wells, including Gudrun Øst, a discovery made after the plan for development and operation of the Gudrun field was submitted.
Statoil combined a new field development with existing pipelines and facilities on Gudrun. The oil and gas produced is processed on the Sleipner A platform, located 50km south. The gas is then piped to Europe, while the oil is piped along with the Sleipner condensate north of Stavanger for shipment to the Kårstø processing complex.
The jacket was delivered by Kværner Værdal in mid-Norway, and the 42-man living quarters by Apply Leirvik at Stord, western Norway. The topside was fabricated by Aibel, with sub-supplies from Thailand, Poland, and Haugesund in Western Norway. The helideck was constructed in China.
 |
| Gudrun platform. Photo from Statoil, Harald Pettersen. |
The recoverable reserves on Gudrun are estimated at 184MMboe and produces about 30,000bbl/d.
Gudrun is the first of many new NCS field developments Statoil plans to install.
Statoil says the next in line is the Valemon, scheduled for star-up later this year. Gina Krog and Johan Sverdrup on the Utsira High are next in the North Sea. Statoil also has the Aasta Hansteen and Johan Castberg to come in northern Norway. The company believes the Johan Sverdrup will ensure value creation for an additional 40-50 years from the NCS.
Gudrun was discovered in 1975 in Norwegian North Sea license area PL025. The last platform the Statoil launched on the NCS was Kristin, in 2005. Gudrun is a high temperature, high pressure field and Statoil says the need for new drilling technology was one of the reasons why the reserves were left in the bank for such a long time.
The Norwegian Parliament approved the plan for development and operation of Gudrun in June 2010.
Statoil is the operator of Gudrun field with a 51% interest. Partners include GDF Suez E&P Norge (25%) and OMV Norge (24%).
Read more:
Gudrun in five minutes - what Statoil's video below:
Subscribe
