Vår Energi ASA increased production from equipment improvements and new drilling at Balder and Ringhorne fields 220 km from Stavanger in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
Output was positively impacted by the restart of the riser at Ringhorne in May. This was temporarily shut in during the first quarter and will be permanently replaced in the third quarter during the planned Balder FPU turnaround.
A new well at Ringhorne was brought on stream during the quarter and production efficiency for Balder-Ringhorne improved to 83% from 80% in the previous 3 months.
The upgrade of the Jotun FPSO for the Balder X development project (a combination of the Balder Future project and Ringhorne IV project) is ongoing and refloat of the vessel out of dry-dock occurred in late June. This enabled the safe completion of the heavy-lift installation of the turret, turntable, and gantry in July. Upgrade of the FPSO remains on path and should sail-away in second-quarter 2024 with production start-up in third-quarter 2024.
Balder X drilling activities are progressing with seven out of 15 wells completed. The last well was the first multilateral and represents the longest reservoir section ever drilled in the Balder area, with a total length of 1,153 m in the reservoir. The project’s subsea equipment has been delivered and the majority is already installed.
Vår Energi is operator of Balder X (90%) with Kistos Energy Norway AS (KENAS) holding the remaining 10% after acquiring Mime Petroleum AS.
