The future is in the north

Melkoya.jpg

The Snøhvit gas is cooled into liquid form at the Melkøya facility. Working here is rough due to hard weather conditions in northern Norway. Photo: Martha Steensnæs. 

08/05/2019 Our estimates indicate that more than half of the oil and gas that has not yet been discovered is located in the Barents Sea. The rest is distributed between the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea. The opportunities are greatest in the Barents Sea, where vast areas have not yet been explored.

The numbers tell us that the opportunities on the Norwegian Shelf are still significant, and this provides a basis for oil and gas production for many decades to come.

Two fields are currently producing in the Barents Sea, Snøhvit and Goliat. Goliat was proven in 2000, and production started 16 years later. The oil from Goliat is transported from the field by boat.

At that time, the Snøhvit gas field (proven in 1981) was already in operation. The gas from Snøhvit is routed by pipeline to Melkøya outside Hammerfest, where it is cooled into liquid form (LNG, liquefied natural gas).

Meet vice president Hammerfest LNG Operations and maintenance, Andreas Sandvik:  

Principle engineer Kim Johnsen explains the Melkøya CCS:

 

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate presented the report titled Petroleum activity in the High North on 2 April (in Norwegian only). The report places the petroleum activity in the High North into a historical, international and technological framework.

”We hope that the report can contribute in a knowledge-based approach to the debate,” said director general Bente Nyland when she presented the report at the Barents Sea Conference 2019.

Equinor and partners Petoro, Total, Neptune and DEA are already planning for the future. The first thing that will happen is that the Askeladd deposit in the Snøhvit licence will commence production.

Mr Sandvik explains:

Chemical process apprentice Sverre Rogde says he has the world’s best job:

 

Goliat is the only producing oil field in the Barents Sea and is operated by Vår Energi. 

Vice president Operations Rune Oldervoll explains:

Plans for the coming years:

In late 2018/early 2019 Vår Energi and its partners drilled appraisal well 7122/7-7 S on the Goliat field. It proved oil, and the companies are now looking at the possibility of producing oil from the Goliat facility. 

The Alke (7120/12-2) gas and condensate discovery, which was proven in 1981, is operated by Vår Energi. In May 2017, planning for a potential development of this discovery was resumed, and several potential development solutions are being considered.  

Johan Castberg is up next

The next field development in the Barents Sea is Johan Castberg.

Johan Castberg

The Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for the Johan Castberg oil field was approved in June 2018. According to the plan, the field will start producing in late 2022.

The development concept is a production and storage ship (FPSO) tied to subsea templates with 18 horizontal production wells and 12 injection wells. The oil will be loaded onto shuttle tankers that will transport it to the market.

Facts about oil and gas in the Barents Sea

  • In 1979, a limited area was opened for petroleum activity in the Barents Sea, 20 blocks on Tromsøflaket (5th licensing round on the Norwegian Shelf).

  • The first exploration well, (7120/12-1) was drilled in 1980.

  • The first discovery, 7120/78-1 Askeladd, was made in 1981. This is now part of the Snøhvit field.

  • Up to the end of March 2019, 155 exploration wells had been spudded (wildcat and appraisal wells).

  • Over the course of the years from 1980 to April 2019, 59 discoveries have been made in the Barents Sea.

  • Two fields are currently producing in the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea; the Snøhvit gas field (discovered in 1984) and the Goliat oil field (2000).

  • The Johan Castberg field is under development, and the plan is for the field to start producing in 2022.

  • As of today, the total undiscovered resources on the Norwegian Shelf are estimated at 4 billion standard cubic metres of oil equivalents. More than half of these resources are located in the Barents Sea.

  • The licensees (the companies) are responsible for exploring, developing and operating oil and gas fields, and they are the ones that must deal with the challenges associated with operating petroleum activities in the north.

  • Challenges can include low air and sea temperatures, icing, long distances and limited infrastructure.

  • The Gulf Stream ensures that the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea has little or no sea ice, and sea ice only occurs during parts of the year.

  • As of 1 April 2019, there are 77 production licences in the Barents Sea (211 blocks/parts of blocks), and they cover 49 000 square kilometres.

  • Exploration on the Norwegian Shelf is profitable, also in the Barents Sea. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s resource report for exploration (2018) shows that every 1000 kroner invested in exploration in the Barents Sea has given 2100 kroner in return.

Photo: Equinor and Vår Energi

Text and video recording: Bente Bergøy and Martha Steensnæs

Video editing: Øystein Leiknes Nag

 

 

 

Updated: 08/05/2019

Latest news

Dry well in the Norwegian Sea (6608/10-R-2 H)
03/12/2024 The “Løvmeis” prospect in the Norwegian Sea, drilled by Equinor, has proven to be dry.
Oil discovery in the North Sea (2/6-7 S and A)
02/12/2024 DNO and its partners have discovered oil in the “Othello” prospect in the southern North Sea.
Production figures October 2024
20/11/2024 Preliminary production figures for October 2024 show an average daily production of 1 988 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate.
Oil and gas discovery in the North Sea (35/11-30 S and 35/11-30 A)
14/11/2024 Equinor and its partners have made an oil and gas discovery in wildcat wells 35/11-30 S and 35/11-30 A (“Rhombi”) in the North Sea.
Stay up to date with news from the Directorate
12/11/2024 Did you know that you can receive alerts about our news items straight to your inbox?
Drilling permit for wellbore 6305/10-1
11/11/2024 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Orlen Upstream Norway AS drilling permit for wellbore 6305/10-1 in production licence 1055, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations.
Drilling permit for wellbore 7122/9-2
04/11/2024 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted Vår Energi ASA drilling permit for wellbore 7122/9-2 in production licence 1131, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations.
Drilling permit for wellbore 31/4-A-23 F
24/10/2024 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has granted OKEA ASA drilling permit for wellbore 31/4-A-23 F in production licence 055, cf. Section 13 of the Resource Management Regulations.
Production figures September 2024
21/10/2024 Preliminary production figures for September 2024 show an average daily production of 1 720 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate.
Revised dataset can facilitate CO2 storage planning
16/10/2024 The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has reviewed around 800 wells and revised the top and bottom for the Utsira Group and the Skade Formation, to ensure consistency.