Aker BP production in the fields began Elf North, Idun North and Eagle in the Norwegian Sea, the three developments incorporate around 120 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) of recoverable resources and they became operational a year ahead of the initially planned date.
With this launch, the company is expanding its activity in the Skarv area through new subsea developments connected to existing infrastructure. This strategy allows for the incorporation of additional reserves without developing a separate production facility for each field.
Aker BP connects three fields to the FPSO Skarv
The deposits are part of the Satellite Project Cormorant and were developed as three separate but coordinated subsea projects. Each development includes a subsea rig and two wells. These systems are connected to the FPSO Corv, which receives the production from the new fields.
In this way, Aker BP leverages existing capacity in the area and can extend the productive activity of Skarv. The subsea connection scheme also provides the possibility of incorporating other resources from the area in later stages. Production from the new fields is expected to represent a significant portion of the volume obtained by Aker BP in the Skarv area over the next few years.
The project went into production a year earlier
Furthermore, the start of production occurred one year ahead of the original schedule according to Aker BP, the joint execution of the three developments allowed for the coordination of engineering, construction, drilling and underwater installation the project was developed using the company’s partnership model in conjunction with OneSubsea, Subsea7, Aker Solutions y Halliburton saipem also participated during the drilling phase.
Near the 60% of the project’s deliveries came from Norwegian suppliers this gave the local supply chain a significant role during execution. Furthermore, with the commissioning of the Skarv satellites, Aker BP completed the production launch of its portfolio of subsea projects, which had received authorization in 2022.
Existing infrastructure reduces CO₂ intensity
The three developments have an estimated intensity of around 4.5 kilograms of CO₂ per barrel of oil equivalent Aker BP partially attributes this level to the use of Skarv’s existing infrastructure. The connection to the FPSO eliminates the need to install a new, independent production facility for the three fields. This subsea tieback model allows production to be transported from seabed facilities to an already operational unit. It is a common approach for developing accumulations close to existing offshore infrastructure.
Aker BP operates Alve Nord, Idun Nord and Ørn
Aker BP acts as operator of the three developments and holds stakes ranging from 23.8% to 58.1% depending on the field and the license. The other companies participating in the licensing are Equinor, Harbour Energy, ORLEN Upstream Norway y JAPEX Norge the commissioning of Alve Nord, Idun Nord and Ørn thus strengthens Aker BP’s activity in the Norwegian Sea and adds about 120 MMboe of recoverable resources to the production system associated with Skarv.
Source: World Oil
Photo: Shutterstock
