Investment on water injection equipment will extend the operational life of the Gudrun field offshore Norway by three years
Image: The Gudrun platform at sea. Photo: courtesy of Helga Hovland/Equinor ASA.
Equinor and partners are planning to invest £225m to improve reservoir recovery at the Gudrun field located in the middle of the North Sea in licence area PL025.
The partners will invest in water injection equipment to extend the operational life of the field by three years compared to the original plan.
Production on Gudrun field is declining
The move comes as the partners see declined production on the Gudrun field, which came on stream in 2014 and currently produces from seven wells.
Equinor Gudrun project director Tom Elseth said: “We are pleased about the partnership’s decision to invest NOK 2.4 billion in further development of the Gudrun field.
“Water injection will improve recovery from the reservoir and utilize existing infrastructure on the field. This is a robust and good project.”
Upon producing water from the Utsira formation, the water injection project will re-inject the water into the reservoir for pressure support and increased production.
Equinor Gudrun operations in development & production Norway vice-president Marit Lunde said: “This is a good example of how we secure long-term activity on the Norwegian continental shelf.
“Based on deeper understanding of the reservoir and technology development we are able to increase the recovery rate and value creation from the field while extending the field life to 2032, three years longer than originally scheduled in the plan for development and operation (PDO).”
Equinor said that a new production well will also be drilled as part of the Gudrun phase 2 project.
Elseth added: “The accommodation on the Gudrun platform is small. To be able to carry out offshore modifications and complete the work by 2021, we must use the Rowan Stavanger rig while it is carrying out scheduled production drilling on the field.”
Equinor has awarded NOK500m ($47m) worth contract to service company Aibel for detail engineering, fabrication, installation and start-up of the water injection plant, which is scheduled for start-up during 2021.
Equinor is the operator of the field with 36% stake while other partners include Neptune with 25% interest, OMV with 24% stake, Repsol holding 15% interest.