By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 13 -- Statoil ASA on Feb. 8 shut down production of 20 million cu m/day of gas and about 60,000 b/d of condensate on the Kvitebjørn platform in the Norwegian North Sea to repair flare knockout drum plates.
It also increased its estimates of original Kvitebjørn reserves by about 50% to 81 billion cu m of gas and 205 million bbl of condensate, saying the reservoir holds more hydrocarbons than had been assumed.
The company planned to shut down production of 3 million cu m/day of gas and 140,000 b/d of oil on the Heidrun platform in the Norwegian Sea on Feb. 15. Repairs at each facility were expected to be complete within a few days, the company said.
The precautionary actions follow determination that a gas leak on the Visund platform Jan. 19 was caused by a loose metal plate on the flare knockout drum, which is the same type that exists on the other platforms.
A specialist team decided that shut-down of the Sleipner B platform in the Norwegian North Sea, which has similar plates, was unnecessary.
