Aker BP ASA has restored production at Alvheim in the central part of the North Sea following unplanned downtime at the field due to technical issues, the company said in a release Dec. 18.
In this year’s third quarter, a malfunction in new equipment installed during maintenance activities resulted in downtime and a deferral of about 1 month of production from the area. The issue has been resolved, and production has been restored.
During restart of operations of the Alvheim floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) on Nov. 29, about 50 cu m of oil leaked to the sea through the produced water outlet.
The Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO) and the Norwegian Coastal Administration chose to use the oil spill response measure known as mechanical degradation, where the propellers on the standby vessel Esvagt Stavanger mixed the oil down into the water column until it dissolved. Satellite and aerial surveillance measures were also initiated, in addition to the standby vessel’s oil radar.
The oil slick was significantly reduced in size as early as the next day, and the Norwegian Coastal Administration, in consultation with NOFO and Aker BP, decided to end the operation on Dec. 1. At this point, no oil was visible on the sea surface in satellite images and flyovers, and the Norwegian Coastal Administration and NOFO have not reported that any harm has been caused to the environment.
As part of its third-quarter 2023 report, the operator provided an updated production guidance of 455,000-465,000 boe/d for full year 2023, adjusted from the forecast provided in February 2023 of 430,000-460,000 boe/d. Considering the Alvheim deferral, the latest production forecast for 2023 remains within the updated guidance range, albeit at the lower end, the company said.
Aker BP’s net production from the Alvheim area in third-quarter 2023 was 33,800 boe/d.
Aker BP is operator at Alveheim with 80% interest. ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS holds the remaining 20%.