LONDON�The licensees at Statoil AS's Yme field have decided to close down production from the small Norwegian North Sea development next summer, on the basis of new production and oil price forecasts which look to make Yme uneconomic.
The contract with Mærsk Contractors Norge AS, which owns and operates the Mærsk Giant production jack-up that has producing oil from the field since Feb. 1996, has been cancelled as of 1 June 200. The charter for the Navion Saga storage ship operated by Rasmussen Maritime has been cancelled with effect from 21 May.
"Development and production of this small field in close cooperation with the two contractors has been educational and challenging, particularly at a time of sharp fluctuations in oil prices," said Statoil Operations Vice-Pres. Sissel Moldskred.
Yme currently has 7 active production wells flowing some 16,000b/d of oil, according to Statoil. Once these wells start being shut in next March daily output is expected to have dropped to 9,000b/d. The field is forecast to have yielded some 51 million bbl of oil by the time it ceases production.
Yme ranks as the smallest field off Norway with independent production facilities, and the first Statoil development where the installations are owned and operated by external contractors. It was developed at a cost of some 2.1 billion kroner.
Statoil holds a 35% interest in the field, the state's direct financial interest (SDFI) some 30%, Norsk Hydro 25%, and RWE-DEA Norge 10%.
