Statoil ASA has started drilling a carbon dioxide injection well in Snohvit field in the Barents Sea, and will follow with a natural gas production well.
Drilling is taking place 143 km offshore Hammerfest with Songa Rig AS’s Cat D Songa Enabler semisubmersible drilling rig. The rig came from South Korea and is on its first assignment on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The CO2 is separated from the well stream and stored in a dedicated seabed formation. Statoil said it captures 650,000 tonnes/year of CO2 from the feed gas. The stored CO2 is monitored to ensure that it does not mix with the main producing reservoir.
The production well will be for replenishment of gas for the onshore Hammerfest LNG plant, which has been online since 2007. Statoil said it will be the first new production well at Snohvit since the field came on stream in 2007.
The next major step for Hammerfest LNG will be development of the Askeladd field, which is part of the plan for development and operation of the Snohvit license. It is expected to come on stream in 2020-21.
