Timelines deferred for Johan Castberg, Snorre projects offshore Norway
Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Statoil and its partners have agreed to delay development decisions on the Johan Castberg and Snorre 2040 projects in the Barents Sea and North Sea.
The Johan Castberg group has put back an investment decision until 2017.
Ivar Aasheim, Statoil’s senior vice president for field development on the Norwegian continental shelf, said “We have made significant progress in reducing costs for Johan Castberg. However, current challenges in relation to costs and oil prices require us to spend more time to ensure that we extract the full benefit of the implemented measures.”
Statoil and other operators, including Eni, Lundin and OMV, are at the same time working on alternative solutions for shared oil infrastructure in the Barents Sea. These include an onshore terminal serving multiple fields in the region.
The Snorre field partners have re-scheduled the Snorre 2040 preliminary decision to implement (DG2) to 4Q 2016.
Snorre holds one of Norway’s largest discovered oil resources, with estimated reserves of 1.63 Bbbl, more than double the original estimate when the development plan was submitted in 1989. However, the subsurface is complex and will require major investments to maintain production through 2040, Statoil says.
The goals are to reduce investment costs, and improve understanding of the reservoir.
The lifespan of the existing infrastructure will also play a big part in planning of increased oil recovery (IOR) measures, Statoil adds. Today’s anticipated recovery rate is 47%.
A new platform, Snorre C, forms the basis for the work leading up to the decision point. Statoil expects a final investment decision to be taken in 4Q 2017, with production starting in 4Q 2022.
03/09/2015
