Wintershall Dea Norge is preparing to startup Nova field in the North Sea following consent from Norwegian authorities to begin production, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said in a release June 30. The operator expects oil production to begin around July 31, while a water injection system will be completed in September.
Nova, in production license 418, lies about 120 km northwest of Bergen and 17 km southwest of the Neptune Energy-operated Gjøa platform in the Norwegian North Sea in 370 m of water. It was developed with two seabed templates, one for oil production and one for water injection to increase oil recovery. The field will be tied back to Gjøa for processing and export.
Estimated reserves are about 14 million standard cu m of oil equivalent (90 million boe).
The discovery well—35/9-7 on the Skarfjell prospect on the Ryggsteinen Ridge—was drilled in 2012 (OGJ Online, Apr. 16, 2012). The reservoir contains oil with a gas cap in sandstone of Late Jurassic age in the Heather formation in the Viking Group, at a depth of 2,500 m. The plan for development and operation was submitted in July 2018 (OGJ Online, May 16, 2018).
Wintershall, as operator, holds 45% interest in the license. Partners are Sval Energi AS (45%) and ONE-Dyas Norge AS (10%).