Statoil and its partners on the giant Johan Sverdrup field have chosen a four-platform development concept, with power from shore.
The field, containing 1.8-2.9billion boe, is one of the five largest discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), spanning more than 200sq km, 1800-1900 below the seabed, and expected to produce for more than 50 years.
“This is historic. We have not made a concept selection for a field this size since the 1980s,” says Arne Sigve Nylund, executive VP for development and production in Norway.
Johan Sverdrup will be developed in phases, with the first phase, comprising a field center, export pipelines, and power supply, and additional subsea installations, costing NOK100-120 billion (US$16.5-19.5 billion).
The field center (pictured) will comprise four bridge-linked installations; a process, drilling, riser and living quarters platforms, will be on steel jackets, in 120m water depth.
It is anticipated that between 40 and 50 production and injection wells will be drilled to support Phase 1 production, of which 11 to 17 wells will be drilled prior to first oil with a semi-submersible rig to facilitate Phase 1 plateau production.
First production is expected to start in late 2019. Fully developed, the field is anticipated to reach a plateau production of 550,000-650,000 boe/d. At its peak, it will contribute 25% of the production from the NCS, said Statoil.
Oil will be transported to the Monstad terminal by a 274km-long, 26in. diameter pipeline. Gas will be transported to Kårstø via a 165km-long, 18in. diameter pipeline.
Johan Sverdrup phase 1 will be supplied with power from shore with a transformer on Kårstø delivering direct current to the riser platform, ensuring an estimated 80MW.
“The ambition is a recovery rate of 70% for the full field,” says Øivind Reinertsen, senior vice president of the Johan Sverdrup field.
Front end engineering for Phase 1 is ongoing, under a contract with Aker Solutions, and a plan for development and operation will be submitted for approval by the Norwegian government in early 2015, said partner Maersk. Tenders for fabrication contracts are expected to hit the market this autumn.
Future phases
Maersk said resources not developed as part of Phase 1 will be brought onstream through subsequent development phases. The scope and costs of future phases is yet to be agreed by the Johan Sverdrup partners and will form the basis of later investment decisions.
As part of the plan for development and operations, scheduled to be delivered in early 2015, alternative power solutions for the future phases will be outlined. One of the alternatives will be power from shore to the whole Utsira High area, based on updated power requirements.
Facts
Partners:
Ashley Heppenstall, President and CEO of Lundin Petroleum says: “Following the discovery of the Johan Sverdrup field by Lundin Petroleum in 2010, the concept selection decision is a major milestone for Lundin Petroleum, our Johan Sverdrup partners, and Norwegian society.
“The development of this field will be one of the largest project undertakings in the North Sea since the 1980’s. It is often quoted in the oil industry that big oil fields get bigger and we certainly believe that this will be the case for Johan Sverdrup. On the Norwegian Continental Shelf a number of the larger mature fields are achieving recovery factors at or exceeding 70% and it will be the objective to achieve similar results for Johan Sverdrup.”
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