Lundin details offshore Norway exploration, development plans
Offshore staff
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Lundin Energy expects to achieve production in the range of 170-190,000 boe/d this year.
The range reflects the likely ramp-up of capacity from the Johan Sverdrup Phase 1 facilities in the North Sea to 535,000 b/d from mid-2021, and the start of natural production decline at Ivar Aasen, which is tied in to Lundin’s Edvard Grieg field complex.
However, the probable start-up this summer of Solveig Phase 1 and the Rolvsnes extended well test (EWT), both tiebacks to Grieg, should help maintain plateau production through the facilities.
Lundin expects its total production to exceed 200,000 boe/d by 2023, in part due to Johan Sverdrup reaching its plateau level of 720,000 b/d, once Phase 2 comes onstream in late 2022.
For 2021 the company has budgeted $850 million for development expenditure, including activities that had to be deferred in 2020 due to lower oil prices.
Phase 1 drilling at Johan Sverdrup will continue throughout 2021: Phase 2’s program this year will include installation of the second processing platform jacket, a process module on the existing riser platform, and subsea production facilities.
At the Edvard Grieg field, Lundin plans to drill three infill production wells and to continue an electrification project, under which the field will switch to power from shore by late 2022.
At the Aker BP-operated Alvheim area, the budget covers Lundin’s share of costs for drilling of two infill wells and development work on the Kobra East/Gekko and Frosk tieback projects, all scheduled for sanction/PDO in mid-2021.
Lundin has budgeted $260 million for exploration and appraisal including drilling of seven further wells (one has already been completed), targeting more than 300 MMboe of net resources.
Targets include Merckx on the Utsira High in the North Sea and appraisal of the Lille Prinsen discovery in the same area; Dovregubben in the North Sea; and Shenzhou in the Barents Sea.
In addition, the company is working on nine potential new projects to take advantage of Norway’s temporary tax incentives, which require PDOs to be submitted before the end of 2022.
These are Solveig Phase 2 and Segment D (WI 65%), Lille Prinsen (WI 40%), Rolvsnes Full Field (WI 80%), Iving (WI 41%), Alta (WI 55%), Wisting (WI 10%), along with Kobra East/Gekko (WI 15%), and Frosk (WI 15%), with total net resources of around 200 MMboe.
Close to half of the E&A budget relates to drilling activities and engineering studies to de-risk these projects ahead of the PDOs.
Lundin’s $20-million abandonment expenditure budget concerns the Brynhild field decommissioning in the North Sea, with the removal of the subsea facilities.
01/29/2021
