Statoil has resumed oil and gas production on the Njord A floating steel platform in the Norwegian Sea after a major reinforcement of the platform structure.
Njord A, which produces the Njord and Hyme fields, had been shut down since last summer after an inspection revealed a need to reinforce the Njord A platform structure.
Work was carried out through winter and spring to strengthen the structure, including adding bracing to the primary beams and struts, and increasing the length of the secondary beams under the platform. Further work will be carried out to Njord A in 2016, when it is taken to shore for additional upgrades, to reinstate drilling operations on board and prepare the platform for future use—the Njord Future Future program—targeting the Njord and Haltenbanken area in the Norwegian Sea.
The platform had been designed for an original lifetime of 16 years – from 1997 when it started production to 2013. The Petroleum Safety Authority subsequently approved the technical design lifetime to 2022.
"We have extended Njord's lifetime by improving recovery on the field, and by finding more oil and gas in the area. The Njord A platform has been with us the entire time, and we want to make sure that the structure can withstand the loads it will be exposed to," says head of Njord operations Arve Rennemo.
Njord A has an integrated deck with a drilling and processing facility and living quarters. Njord was a marginal field development, but Statoil says the area has a substantial resource potential which could provide a basis for production beyond 2013.
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