Wintershall Norge has submitted the development concept of the North Sea's Skarfjell field to Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of in a 'decision to continue' (BOV) report.

Project operator Wintershall along with licence partners decided that the Skarfjell reservoir would be connected to the nearby Gjøa platform through a subsea tie-back.

Skarfjell is nearly 20km south-west of Engie-operated Gjøa platform and 130km north-west of Bergen.

The partners will now enter the define phase of the project where they will refine the technical and economic plan before making the final investment decision.

Wintershall executive board member for exploration and production in Europe and Middle East Martin Bachmann said: “Moving into the next phase of the plan is a signal that Wintershall is committed to Norway in the long-term. This is our second operated development project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf after Maria, and we are using our experience and resources to fine-tune the concept for Skarfjell.

“Wintershall is convinced of having selected the most economically robust solution for the field. We will now work closely with our partners in the coming months to design a plan that will take Skarfjell forward.”

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Skarfjell field is expected to produce around 60 million to 140 million barrels of oil equivalent.

According to the proposed plan, crude recovered from the Skarfjell reservoir will be developed with two subsea templates tied back to the Gjøa platform for processing and export purposes.

Gjøa will also deliver lift gas to the field and water injection for pressure support.

Wintershall Norge managing director Bernd Schrimpf said: “Reaching this stage in the development has required a thorough technical and commercial investigation into various development solutions for Skarfjell.

"We believe we have found the best way of unlocking the maximum value from the field."

“By deciding with our licence partners to pursue a tie-back to existing infrastructure as our preferred option, we believe we have found the best way of unlocking the maximum value from the field.

“In this way, Skarfjell could provide substantial returns for Wintershall, our partners and the rest of Norwegian society.”

The partners will conduct multiple studies before devising the final plan for development and operation.

Discovered in 2012, a major portion of Skarfjell is located in production license PL 418 with an extension into PL 378.

Wintershall Norge holds 35% interest in PL 418 with operatorship. The remaining stakeholders are Capricorn Norge (20%), Bayerngas Norge (20%), Edison Norge (15%) and DEA Norge (10%).


Image: The Gjøa platform. Photo: courtesy of Norsk olje og gass / Wikipedia.