The company and its partners have approved the final investment decision (DG3) for the development of Gråsel

Grasel

Aker BP and Skarv field partners to develop Gråsel discovery next year. (Credit: Aker BP.)

Norwegian oil company Aker BP along with the partners of the Skarv field has decided to develop the Gråsel discovery in the Norwegian Sea next year.

The company and its partners including Equinor, Wintershall Dea and PGNiG have approved the final investment decision (DG3) for the development of Gråsel on 17 December.

Situated above the Skarv reservoir in the Norwegian Sea nearly 210km west of Sandnessjøen, the Gråsel reservoir extends over 7km and is 2km wide and holds a total of approximately 13 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The oil and gas production at the project, which was discovered in 1998, will use the available capacity on the existing production vessel (FPSO) on the Skarv field.

Aker BP said that the total investment costs for the Gråsel reservoir are approximately NOK 1.2bn ($139.5m).

Aker BP Gråsel project manager Mette Nygård said: “Based on a development solution with reuse of existing infrastructure, this project has become very profitable.

“The break-even-price is around USD 15 per barrel. The tax measures adopted by the Storting in June, which entails faster tax depreciation, has made the project even more robust and accelerated the development.”

Aker BP to re-use existing infrastructure for Gråsel development

The company has planned to re-use existing infrastructure in order to minimize Gråsel development scope.

The development includes a new producer which was drilled from an existing well slot on the Skarv field, and injection support from a joint injector for Gråsel and Tilje.

The first oil from the development is planned for the fourth quarter of next year, in the same period the second phase of Ærfugl is also scheduled to come on stream.

In June this year, Aker BP and Pandion Energy have submitted the plan for development and operation (PDO) for the Hod field to the Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.