STATOIL PLANS SHIP BASED FPS FOR NORNE
Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS (Statoil) has opted to develop Norne oil field with a newbuild production vessel, the first such development off Norway.
Block 6608/10 Norne field is estimated to hold 440 million bbl of oil. Norne development cost using a ship based FPS is expected to be less than 10 billion kroner ($1.36 billion). Statoil plans a fast track development with first oil due in early 1998. A vessel was chosen after a study that included looking at semisubmersible and SPAR buoy options (OGJ, Oct. 25, p. 99).
"The vessel will have 630,000 bbl of oil storage, and we plan to own and operate it ourselves," said John Adlam, Statoil project director. "A ship involves the lowest investment and gives us an integrated storage and export system." The vessel will be designed to allow tie-in of satellite fields. Oil will be offloaded to shuttle tankers through the stern, eliminating the need for a separate loading buoy.
The vessel will be based on Statoil's submerged turret loading (STL) concept. STL entails a buoy carrying a flexible riser moored to the seabed and held 100 ft subsea to which a production vessel is connected.
The first production ship using this design is currently on trial in Fulmar field in the U.K. North Sea sector, operated by Shell U.K. Exploration & Production (OGJ, Oct. 25, p. 34).
A plan for development and operation of Norne field will be submitted to the Ministry of Industry & Energy in fall 1994.
Development will require 10-12 oil producers, and nine or 10 water and produced gas injection wells. Production is expected to be 150,000 b/d.
Norne field partners are operator Statoil 50%, Norsk Hydro AS and Saga Petroleum AS 15% each, and Norsk Agip AS and Enterprise Oil Norge Ltd. 10% each.
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