Var Energi submits plan to extend Balder area production to 2045

Var Energi AS and license partner Mime Petroleum AS submitted a revised plan for development and operations to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy Dec. 17 that would extend the production lifetime of Balder and Ringhorne to 2045.

OGJ editors

Dec. 17, 2019

2 min read

The Balder Future project, a 19.6-billion kroner investment, involves drilling 13 new production wells and one new water injection well on Balder field the North Sea. The aim is to recover 136 MMboe.

The project also includes extending the lifetime of the floating production storage and offloading vessel Jotun A FPSO.

Balder field is in production license PL 001—the very first license on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). On current production estimates, the project will give the license a total lifespan of over 80 years.

In addition to the new production wells, the project will enable the drilling of extra subsea infill wells, and new wells from the neighboring Ringhorne platform. Var Energi also has plans to execute further exploration drilling in the area, which if successful could add even more reserves. All these activities will take place while ordinary production continues at the fields.

Earlier this year, Var Energi AS awarded an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract to Rosenberg Worley AS for the lifetime extension of the Jotun A FPSO. Baker Hughes and Ocean Installer will engineer, procure, construct, and install new subsea production systems, umbilicals, risers, and flowlines for the Jotun A FPSO (OGJ Online, Oct. 7, 2019).

The Jotun A FPSO will be brought to shore mid-2020 for its upgrade and life extension. During the summer of 2022 the vessel will be reinstalled in the area between Balder and Ringhorne fields.

Var Energi has reserves and resources of more than 1,900 MMboe. Daily production is expected to reach 350,000 boe by 2023, following investments of 65 billion kroner in development projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Balder Future is a key project in the growth plan, Var Energi said.