STATOIL SLATES NORNE FOR FAST TRACK DEVELOPMENT

Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS plans to develop the 440 million bbl Norne field with a fast track program scheduled to bring first oil in early 1998. Norne will be among the first fields to be developed under a Statoil strategy to compress development timetables to improve the value of discoveries. This new approach could also see early development of a small, isolated oil discovery in the North Sea that "nobody has heard about," said Kyrre Nese, Statoil's senior vice

Oct. 25, 1993

3 min read

Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS plans to develop the 440 million bbl Norne field with a fast track program scheduled to bring first oil in early 1998.

Norne will be among the first fields to be developed under a Statoil strategy to compress development timetables to improve the value of discoveries.

This new approach could also see early development of a small, isolated oil discovery in the North Sea that "nobody has heard about," said Kyrre Nese, Statoil's senior vice president, exploration & production.

"Statoil has about 120 discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf," said Nese. "With the North Sea's transition from large to small discoveries, we must shorten the time from discovery to production.

"To increase the value of these discoveries, Statoil must enter the business of concurrent engineering. Things which were done sequentially must now be done in parallel."

NORNE PLANS

In March Statoil said tests showed the Norne field on Norwegian Sea Block 6608/10 was its largest discovery in 8 years (OGJ, Mar. 15, p. 32).

Nese said development of Norne along traditional lines would have meant earliest production in 2001. This was because drilling would be followed by 6 months of seismic surveying, then more drilling, then several stages of development.

"Now our objective is for production start up in early 1998, to be achieved by compressing time scales dramatically."

Statoil intends to seek development approval from the Ministry of Industry & Energy late next Near.

Development of Hyde field in the U.K. by BP Exploration Operating Co. Ltd. influenced the way Norwegians did business, said Nese.

"Statoil has tended to compartmentalize projects internally and with contractors. On Hyde the contractors were part of a project team that had a common objective," said Nese.

"On Norne Statoil will be going for one project team throughout, as opposed to the conventional relay race in which changeover is never perfect."

Three contractors are currently working on conceptual design for Norne. These are Aker AS and Kvaerner AS, both of Oslo, and Brown & Root Ltd., London.

Statoil asked the contractors to evaluate three alternatives: monohull, semisubmersible, and SPAR buoy development. They then had to recommend one.

Nese said one contractor favored monohull, while two recommended semisubmersible development. The contractors have until Nov. 1 to develop their concepts further before submitting them to Statoil.

Norne concepts are based on 125,000-150,000 b/d of oil production. Ten production wells and six water injectors are planned. An appraisal well scheduled this winter may alter design capacity.

BLOCK 9/2 PLAN

Block 9/2 in the Norwegian North Sea contains a 23 million bbl oil discovery that is marginal but could be profitable with rapid development based on concurrent engineering.

"Because 9/2 is so marginal, Statoil is negotiating commercial options before a decision to develop is reached," said Nese. "There are several 'stoppers' for the project, including an appraisal well in January. If this well proves the expected reserves, it will be completed as a producer and development can go ahead."

The 9/2 discovery is "in the middle of nowhere," so it likely will be developed using a production jack up with offshore loading into tankers.

"The 9/2 prospect has no strategic value," said Nese, "but it could be important as a pilot scheme to redesign the way we do business. If 9/2 is successful, several other fields will also be made commercial."