By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 5 -- Statoil ASA has nearly finished drilling and completion in the first phase of the Snøhvit subsea development project 140 km northwest of Hammerfest, Norway, in the Barents Sea. The project includes Snøhvit, Albatross, and Askeladd gas and condensate fields.
The Transocean Inc. Polar Pioneer semisubmersible, on site since December 2004, has drilled and partly completed six production wells and the F-2H carbon dioxide injection well in Snøhvit field and moved south to drill three producers in the Albatross reservoir. The F-2H well will inject CO2 separated from production (OGJ Online, Jan. 26, 2005).
Two of the Albatross wells will have horizontal sections to ensure high output toward the end of the field's producing life.
All 10 wells on Snøhvit and Albatross will be ready for production in 2006 but are not due on stream until the Hammerfest LNG plant on Melkøya is completed in 2007.
Ten more production wells will be drilled in phases in 2011 and 2014.