Equinor has started production from the Verdande subsea oilfield in the Norwegian Sea, tying it back to the Norne floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Verdande, an oilfield with some associated gas, is located around 7km north of Norne and approximately 200km from Sandnessjøen.
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The subsea field includes the Cape Vulture and Alve Nord East discoveries, which were confirmed in 2017 and 2020.
Its development involved the drilling of three wells, all connected by a template and pipeline to the Norne field.
From Norne, oil is transported to Kårstø by shuttle tankers, and gas through the Åsgard Transport gas pipeline system.
With reserves of 36 million barrels (mbbl) of oil, the Verdande field development is set to extend Norne’s output beyond 2030.
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By GlobalDataEquinor project development senior vice-president Trond Bokn said: “I am proud that, in close collaboration with our licence partners and suppliers, we have delivered the Verdande project on schedule, less than three years after the partnership made the investment decision.
“Fast and cost-efficient field developments like this – where smaller discoveries are realised through smart use of existing infrastructure – are key to further developing the Norwegian Continental Shelf [NCS].”
Equinor said it has invested Nkr6bn ($570m) in the Verdande field, and that the project has generated significant ripple effects across the Norwegian supplier industry.
According to the company, the NCS is shifting towards smaller subsea fields connected to existing infrastructure.
This strategy is said to help reduce both costs and environmental impact.
The Verdande field is owned by a partnership comprising Equinor Energy, which is also the operator (59.3%), Petoro (22.4%), DNO Norge (10.5%), Aker BP (3.5%), Japex Norge (3.5%) and Orlen Upstream Norway (0.8%).
DNO Norge has agreed to acquire the stakes of Aker BP and Orlen Upstream Norway, pending government approval.
Equinor North exploration and production senior vice-president Grete Haaland said: “So far, we have tied six subsea fields back to the Norne FPSO, including Andvare, which started up in September, and now Verdande.
“Verdande helps extend the lifetime, value creation and ripple effects from Norne operations. More than 900 full-time equivalents are linked to Norne operations.
“By developing smaller discoveries around established fields, we maximise resource recovery and extend the lifetime of existing infrastructure. This is good resource management and good socioeconomics.”
Recently, Equinor and Shell launched a new company, Adura, combining their UK offshore oil and gas operations.
