Offshore staff
TRONDHEIM, Norway – Statoil (OSE:STL) has started construction of a new research center in Norway as part of its plan to increase recovery from its Norwegian fields to 60%.
The $42-million, 2,700-sq m (29,062-sq ft) complex is being built adjacent to Statoil’s research center at Rotvoll in Trondheim, and should be completed toward the end of next year.
It will focus on technologies such as drilling and well maintenance, reservoir mapping, and advanced injection techniques. Showcase equipment will include an industrial CT scanner said to be 100 times more powerful than a medical CT scanner.
“We’ve already had a number of activities at the research center designed to develop new technologies, but by gathering all these activities in the one place, gaining access to the world’s most advanced CT scanners and specially designed laboratories dedicated toincreased recovery, we will be establishing a powerful center that will enable us to maximize added value,” said head of research Karl Johnny Hersvik.
According to Statoil, the average global oil recovery rate is roughly 35%, compared with 47% for the Norwegian continental shelf, and 50% for Statoil (offshore Norway).
The company has more than 3,000 personnel engaged in 300 projects related to increased recovery.
“Almost half of our R&D budget of NOK 2.8 billion [$488 million] is earmarked for testing and developing the technology that enables increased recovery,” said Hersvik. “The challenge is to be able to understand which technologies are most efficient and why the different technologies perform as they do.
“This center will enable us to simulate what happens in the reservoirs, providing us with unique knowledge about the technologies that function best.”
9/25/2012
