Equinor Energy AS doubled the life of Njord field in the Norwegian Sea, following upgrades to both the platform and floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO), the company said in a late-December release. The field has begun producing again after 6 years is expected to produce for another 20 years, the operator said.
Both the platform and Njord Bravo FSO were brought ashore in 2016 after 19 years of production and underwent extensive upgrades. This was the first time a platform and an FSO have been disconnected from the field, upgraded, and towed back, Equinor said. Equinor-operated Bauge and Neptune Energy-operated Fenja fields have been developed in parallel with the upgrading project. Equinor-operated Bauge field is expected to begin production in the coming weeks. Recoverable resources in the fields are 50 and 60 MMboe, respectively.
Njord production resumed Dec. 27, 2022, following a 2-year delay as the upgrading project was “more challenging than expected,” and experienced delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the operator said. The delay put an upward pressure on costs, resulting in capital expenditures increasing to just over NOK 31 billion from the original NOK 17 billion noted in the plan for development and operation.
Upgrading contracts were awarded in 2017-18. Aker Solutions held the main responsibility for platform engineering and upgrading, and Brevik Engineering carried out engineering work for the FSO, which has been upgraded by Aibel. Njord A platform was upgraded at Stord. Njord Bravo FSO was inspected before upgrade and prepared for tow-out in Kristiansund. Refurbishment occurred in Haugesund.
A new project is under way to partly electrify Njord field alongside the nearby Draugen platform to decrease CO2 emissions.
Njord lies in 330 m of water about 30 km west of Draugen. Produced oil is transported by pipeline to the FSO and onwards by tankers to market. Natural gas is exported through a 40-km pipeline connected to the Åsgard system for transport to Kårstø terminal.
Equinor is operator at Njord with 27.5% interest. Partners are Wintershall Dea Norge AS (50%) and Neptune Energy Norge AS (22.5%).
