As of December 2, the Verdande subsea field, located in the Norwegian Sea, started production and was connected to the floating production vessel Norne (FPSO). With an estimated reserve of 36 million barrels of oil and some associated gas, this development allows Norne’s operation to be extended beyond the decade.
The Verdande field is comprised of the Cape Vulture (2017) and Alve Nord East (2020) discoveries, exploited by three wells targeting a subsea template linked to Norne by a pipeline.
Collaboration that generates results
Less than three years after the investment decision, Equinor, together with its licensee partners, completed the development of the project. The approach of connecting small fields to existing infrastructure has proven to be a cost-effective and efficient way to keep the Norwegian continental shelf in operation. Norwegian continental shelf in operation.
According to Trond Bokn, senior vice president of project development at Equinor, this type of project accelerates returns and reduces costs and environmental impacts. The total investment exceeded NOK 6 billion, generating positive effects on a wide network of local suppliers.
Yacimiento Verdande and its supplier network
Verdande is the sixth field to be connected to the Norne floating unit, joining recent initiatives such as Andvare. These connections enhance resource recovery and extend the usefulness of assets already in place. In total, more than 900 full-time equivalent jobs are associated with the operations of Norne.
The supply chain involved companies such as TechnipFMC in Kongsberg, Aibel in Harstad and Subsea7 in Stavanger. Halliburton, Transocean Encourage and Completion Tracer also participated in drilling and well optimization. From Moss, OneSubsea provided control cabling.
Integrated logistics and transportation
The extracted crude oil is transported by tanker from Norne, while the associated gas will be routed through the Åsgard Transport system to the Kårstø facility. The location of the field, some seven kilometers north of the Norne field and 200 kilometers from Sandnessjøen, facilitates operations from land and sea.
With Verdande in production, Equinor consolidates its strategy of infrastructure optimization and sustainable development of small discoveries.
Source and photo: Equinor