Offshore staff
LYSAKER, Norway – Aker BP has upgraded resources for the North of Alvheim Krafla and Fulla (NOAKA) area in the Norwegian North Sea to around 600 MMboe.
The company, as operator of North of Alvheim and Fulla (NOA Fulla), and Equinor, operator of Krafla, are working on a coordinated area-wide development. Currently the gross capex estimate is around $10 billion, with a breakeven of $30/bbl.
During October, the operators submitted proposals for impact assessment programs for NOA Fulla and Krafla to the Norwegian authorities. This is the start of the process for the plan for development and operation. FID on the project is expected toward the end of next year.
Aker BP and LOTOS Exploration and Production Norge have entered an agreement to swap interests in the NOA Fulla area to simplify the ownership structure ahead of the project development. Following approval by the authorities, Aker BP will have an 87.7% stake in seven NOA area licenses and 47.7% in Fulla (PL 873), with LOTOS allocated 12.3% in each case.
Elsewhere in the North Sea, Aker BP continues planning for the Valhall NCP (New Central Platform) project, which will add new well slots for further development of the Valhall Area.
The company is also seeking to include the King Lear gas discovery, with a bridge-linked central processing platform at the Valhall field center and an unmanned wellhead installation at King Lear, both supplied by power from shore.
This solution, the company added, also provides flexibility for future development of the area. It is aiming for a concept select decision before year-end and FID in 4Q 2022.
At Ivar Aasen, completion of the last production well in the latest drilling campaign was cancelled due to poor reservoir properties. However, a newly completed water injector should start operating shortly, assuming power issues at the connected Edvard Grieg platform complex can be resolved.
The Hanz tieback project to Ivar Aasen is heading for FID by the end of the year, and should deliver first oil in 1Q 2024.
In the Alvheim area, a new single lateral side track well should produce first oil soon. Odfjell’s semisubmersible Deepsea Nordkapp has since relocated to drill the Kameleon Infill West well, with first oil expected in 1Q 2022.
Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is reviewing the recently submitted PDO for the Frosk development, another tie-in to Alvheim, and drilling should start next summer. Aker BP anticipates a concept decision for the Trell and Trine project by year-end, now that the Ministry has approved unitization of the associated licenses.
As for the Ula Power Project in the southern Norwegian North Sea, the final (third) generator should by now have been installed on the platform, with the project due to be completed in the first half of 2022.
Finally, preparations to develop the Garantiana discovery have been postponed to optimize the tie-in to the planned host platform Snorre B, operated by Equinor, and to provide more time to assess upside potential in the license.
FID now looks unlikely before 2026, with production starting in 2029.
11/11/2021
