Norwegian firm Equinor has started production from the Bauge subsea field in the Norwegian Sea.
The Bauge field, which is tied back to the recently upgraded Njord platform, is estimated to have recoverable reserves of 50 million barrels of oil equivalent, mainly oil.
The Bauge field comprises two oil producers in a subsea template, as well as pipelines and an umbilical connecting the wells to the Njord A platform.
Oil production from the Bauge field is delivered from Njord A platform by pipeline to the Njord Bravo floating storage and offloading unit (FSO), and subsequently to the market by tankers.
The gas from the field is supplied to the Åsgard Transport System via a 40km pipeline from Njord A, and then to the Kårstø terminal.
Equinor project development senior vice-president Trond Bokn said: “The subsea facility was built and installed without a single HSE incident. I am very proud of this, and I would like to thank our suppliers, particularly the main suppliers Randaberg Industries, Ocean Installer and OneSubsea.
“This shows that the zero-harm vision is possible. Capital expenditures totalling Nkr4.6bn ($3.85bn) the project was delivered within budget.”
Equinor operates the Bauge field with 42.5% stake. Other Licensees include Wintershall Dea Norge (27.5%), Vår Energi (17.5%) and Neptune Energy (12.5%).
