The shelf in 2009 - Development
15/01/2010 In 2009, the authorities approved the plans for the development and operation (PDO) of the Goliat oil field in the Barents Sea and the Oselvar oil and gas field in the North Sea. In 2010, as many as seven new development plans may be submitted for approval.
The Eni-operated Goliat field, 50 kilometres southeast of the Snøhvit field and 85 kilometres northwest of Hammerfest, is the first oil field to be developed in the Barents Sea. The licensees plan to start up in 2013, and a floating facility will process, store and load the oil on the field. The intention is for Goliat to be partially supplied with power from land.
Dong E&P Norge AS is the operator of Oselvar, about 250 kilometres southwest of Stavanger. The field will be developed with a seabed installation with three production wells, and the oil and gas will be sent via pipeline to the Ula platform for processing. The production is scheduled to start in November 2011.
The authorities also approved a PDO for installation of a third rich-gas pipeline from Troll A to the processing facility at Kollsnes, and for gas injection from Troll B. These two projects will contribute to extend the lifespan of the Troll field.
A PDO exemption was granted for Vega Sør Olje and for Snorre Eksport, and Statoil submitted an application for exemption for Njord Nordvestflanken (6407/7-6).
Postponed developments
Several development plans have been postponed, but will probably be processed in 2010. This applies to 6507/2-2 Marulk (operator Eni), 15/3-1 S Gudrun and 15/3-4 Sigrun (operator Statoil), 15/12-19 Pi Nord and 6/3-1 Pi Sør (operator BG) and 1/5-2 Flyndre (operator Maersk Oil), which is a minor discovery on the border between the UK and Norwegian shelf.
PDOs may be submitted for the discovery 34/10-23 Valemon (operator Statoil), but the resource base there is uncertain. Frøy (operator Det norske oljeselskap) is a new development of a shut-down field, where the PDO was postponed in 2008 due to the financial crisis. In addition, the operator ConocoPhillips may submit a PDO for a new living quarters platform on the Ekofisk field.
Due to profitability and/or complexity challenges, three discoveries on the border between Norway and the UK may be postponed for several years. This applies to Statoil-operated 15/8-1 Alpha, which is a subsea satellite to the Sleipner fields, and 6406/3-2 Trestakk - a subsea satellite to either the Åsgard field or Kristin field. It also applies to Lundin-operated 24/6-1 Peik.
Updated: 14/01/2010