The Skarv Satellite Project (SSP) involves the joint development of three discoveries, Alve Nord, Idun Nord and Orn, in the Skarv area of the North Sea, Norway.
The project is one of the largest developments in the North Sea, developed with an investment of $1.73bn (Nkr17bn). Aker BP, as operator, developed the project on behalf of the licence partners.
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The company submitted the project’s plan for development and operation to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in December 2022, and it was approved in June 2023.
Construction work on the first of the three seabed installations of the project began in August 2023.
Production from the SSP commenced in August 2026, a year ahead of schedule.
The project is expected to account for approximately 60% of Aker BP’s net production from the Skarv area for several years and have low CO₂ emissions of 4.5kg CO₂ per barrel.
Skarv Satellite area details
The SSP development is located within the Skarv area located in the central part of the Norwegian Sea.
Orn lies in the production licence (PL) 942 at a water depth of 380m and is situated 20km north-west of the Skarv field. The field is jointly owned by Aker BP (30%), ORLEN Upstream Norway (40%) and Equinor (30%).
The Alve Nord field lies within PL 127C at a water depth of 380m and is located 40km north-east of the Skarv field. It is owned by Aker BP (58.1%), Harbour Energy (20%), JAPEX Norge (20%) and ORLEN Upstream Norway (11.9%).
Idun Nord lies within PL 159D and is situated east of Skarv field at a water depth of 380m. The partners include Aker BP (23.83%), Equinor (36.2%), Harbour Energy (28.1%) and ORLEN Upstream Norway (11.9%).
SSP discovery and reservoir details
Idun Nord was discovered in 2009 by the 6507/3-7 well, while the Orn field was discovered in 2019 through the 6507/2-5 S well. The fields contain gas and condensate in the sandstone of the Middle Jurassic age in the Garn and Not Formations.
Alve Nord was discovered in 2011 by the 6607/12-2 S well. It contains oil and gas reservoirs in the Early Jurassic Bat Group and the Middle Jurassic Fangst Group. The gas condensate is held within the Lange Formation of the Late Cretaceous age.
The three fields are estimated to contain recoverable resources of 120 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe).
Skarv Satellite Project details
The SSP is a subsea tie-back to the Skarv floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which minimises the development cost by using common infrastructure. Each field features a subsea template with four slot templates and two wells tied back to the Skarv FPSO.
The subsea production system features seven standardised vertical subsea trees, topside control systems, three four-slot templates and manifolds, one cluster manifold, wellheads, and several tie-in and connection systems, including one dynamic and five static umbilicals with a total length of 60km.
The production from the three fields is carried out through pressure depletion. The well stream is transferred to the Skarv FPSO through a pipeline for further processing.
Gas produced from the fields is transported onshore to the Karsto gas and condensate plant on the west coast of Norway through an 800km-long pipeline.
Skarv FPSO details
The SSP required modifications to the Skarv FPSO to enable the tie-back and integration of the three fields with the existing infrastructure.
The Skarv FPSO is 295m long and 51m wide. The topsides of the FPSO weigh 18,000t, while the hull weighs 49,000t. The FPSO has a turret/mooring system weighing 7,000t and a storage capacity of 875,000 barrels.
It has an oil production capacity of 85,000 barrels per day and gas production capacity of 19 million metric cubic metres per day (670mmscf/d). It also has 100 single-bed cabins.
Several fields and deposits are connected to the Skarv FPSO, including Skarv, Idun, Aerfugl (Ærfugl) and Grasel.
Contractors involved
Aker BP executed the contracts for the project through a subsea alliance with Aker Solutions and Subsea 7, and a modification alliance with Aker Solutions.
Subsea 7 won the subsea umbilical riser flowline contract, while Aker Solutions was contracted to provide the subsea production system, as part of the subsea alliance.
Aker Solutions, an energy technology company, was engaged for the modification services for the Skarv FPSO under the modification alliance.
Floatel International, a provider of offshore floatels, performed modifications and maintenance services for the Skarv FPSO in April 2023.
