Statoil ASA and partners will extend production from the Statfjord A platform in the North Sea until 2020.
“The extension means that Statfjord A will still be in operation when the new giant Johan Sverdrup comes on stream,” stated Atle Rettedal, director of production for Statfjord field. Statoil’s oldest platform, Statfjord A was slated to be shut down several years ago, the company said.
The partners extended the life of Statfjord by rebuilding it to produce gas, investing $3.75 billion to maintain production. The field, targeted for a 74% gas recovery rate, has produced more than 4.7 billion boe. Statfjord originated as an oil field in which the partnership hoped to recover 40%, but has reached 66%.
“The size of the Statfjord field is unique, making it a significant part of the history of the Norwegian shelf for 40 years,” Rettedal said. “We will take the experiences from Statfjord with us in our work with Johan Sverdrup, which has a horizon of 40 years.”
Statoil said it will have drilled 11 wells by yearend and plans to drill 10 additional wells in 2014. Statfjord A’s highest producing well, A-06, has accounted for 120 million bbl.
In December 2007, the platform spilled 4,000 cu m of oil from a leak between a storage cell and one of the platform shafts (OGJ Online, Dec. 12, 2007; May 29, 2008). Production resumed in May 2008.
Statoil is operator with 44.34% interest, with ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Norway AS 21.37%, Centrica Resources (Norway) AS 19.76%, and Centrica Resources Ltd. 14.53% (OGJ Online, Jan. 31, 2012).
