Equinor gets approval for start-up of Utgard field production

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted consent to start production from Equinor-operated Utgard field. Production is expected to begin in September.

Utgard, discovered in 1982, is a natural gas and condensate field on the Norwegian and UK continental shelf in 110-120 m of water. The field lies 21 km from Sleipner field. The reservoir has good quality and is in sandstone of Middle Jurassic age in the Hugin formation at a depth of 3,700 m.

The Norwegian share of the field is 62%. Consent for start-up is granted to the licensees in production licenses 046E and 046F on the Norwegian shelf and in PL 312 on the UK shelf. The current development plan was approved in January 2017 (OGJ Online, Jan. 17, 2017).

The development concept is a 4-slot subsea template with two wells tied-back to the Sleipner T facility for processing and reduction of the carbon dioxide level in the gas. Modifications have been made on the facility to process the well stream. Gas will be exported to the Gassled pipeline system and unstable condensate will be transported via the existing condensate pipeline to the Karsto terminal for further processing and export. Investments in field development are 2.7 billion kroner.

Equinor and its license partners let a contract for use of Odfjell Drilling’s Deepsea Atlantic semisubmersible drilling rig to complete a drilling program for the Visund and Utgard licenses before it undergoes 10-year classification, Equinor reported in May 2018. The contract with Deepsea Atlantic is a confirmation of the letter of intent announced by Odfjell in April 2018 (OGJ Online, Apr. 18, 2018).

Equinor estimates the expected total sales volume at 1.71 million cu m of condensate, 2.73 billion cu m of gas, and 560,000 tonnes of NGL.

Equinor Energy AS holds 38.44%. Equinor UK Ltd. holds 38%. Partners are LOTOS E&P Norge AS 17.36% and KUFPEC Norway AS 6.2%.