LONDON�Statoil AS�s marginal Sygna field has been brought to first flow through the first of two production wells tied back to the operator�s workhorse Statfjord C platform 21 km to the south. The second well is due to come on stream before yearend, boosting production to some 40,000 b/d of oil from the Norwegian North Sea field.
Production from the two wells will be supported by water injection via an extended-reach well being drilled from the Statfjord North satellite. Statfjord C, to which both the Statfjord North and East satellites are tied back, will handle processing, storage, and offshore loading of produced oil totaling some 270,000 b/d once Sygna is in full production.
The two wells in Sygna, estimated to contain 53.5 million bbl of recoverable oil, are likely to produce until 2014, according to Statoil.
Although Sygna is a �relatively small project,� Project Manager Dag Brundtland believes the field is �among the best [Statoil] operates. Our required rate of return can be met even at an oil price below $7/bbl," he notes.
The umbilical linking Sygna with Statfjord C incorporates a 3.5-in. methanol service line�the largest diameter used for a subsea development worldwide, according to Brundtland�that can help accommodate the pressure drop caused by the long distance between template and platform.
Statoil puts total investment in Sygna at 1.4 billion kroner.
