Statoil plans to invest 500 million kroner to lower separator pressure on the Njord A semisubmersible production platform in the Norwegian Sea.
A lower pressure in the first and second-stage separators will increase production from the wells and along with other measures prolong the life of the facility until 2020, according to the company.
With the work, Statoil aims to increase the recovery factor from the complex Njord reservoir to 30% from the current estimated 23%.
The company also expects to drill several wells in the Njord area. Currently the Njord northwest flank project, 6 km from the Njord A, will add two long-distance wells drilled from Njord A.
The Hyme (Gygrid) fast-track project will also tie-back to Njord A (OGJ Online, May 12, 2011).
Statoil expects the low-pressure production project will boost recovery from Njord by about 18.5 million boe and extend the field life by 2-3 years.
The company has let contracts for the Njord low-pressure production modification and the Hyme topside to Reinertsen AS. In March, it also let a contract for compressor procurement and installation to GE Oil & Gas.
Statoil expects project execution to take place in fall 2012 and has scheduled the start-up of low-pressure production for fourth-quarter 2012.
Njord field is in Blocks 6407/10 and 6407/7 and came on stream in 1997.
Operator Statoil holds a 20% interest in the field. Its partners are GDF Suez E&P Norge AS 20%, E.On Ruhrgas Norge AS 30%, Petoro AS 7.5%, ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Norway AS 20%, and VNG Norge Operations AS 2.5%.
