Equinor has received consent from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to continue using the Snorre A and Snorre B facilities of Snorre field in the Tampen area in the Norwegian Sea until 2040 to produce remaining resources in the field.
Image: In December 2017, a development plan for the Snorre Expansion Project was submitted to the Norwegian authorities. Photo courtesy of Equinor ASA.
Equinor had approval to use Snorre A until 1 May 2022 and Snorre B until 1 May 2021.
The original oil reserves were 307 million standard m³ (1,929 million barrels), and the remaining oil reserves are estimated at 94 million cubic m³ (590 million barrels).
Located in the Tampen area in the northern part of the North Sea, where water depth is 300-350 meters, Snorre was proven in 1979. The plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 1988.
The field has been developed with the facilities Snorre A in the south and Snorre UPA in the central part of the field.
Snorre A is a floating drilling, production and living quarters platform moored to the seabed with tension legs. Snorre UPA is a subsea production facility tied back to Snorre A.
Snorre A also includes a dedicated process module for full stabilization of the well stream from Vigdis. Production commenced in 1992.
Authorities granted approval for the PDO for the Snorre B facility in 1998. This facility is a semi-submersible integrated drilling, process and living quarters platform.
Situated in the northern part of the field, Snorre B facility started production in 2001.
In July, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy approved a revised PDO for further development of the Snorre field, called the Snorre Expansion Project (SEP).
SEP, a major subsea development, is the largest improved recovery project on the Norwegian Shelf today, and represents an investment that will contribute to 25 more years of production on Snorre and yield significant revenues for the Norwegian society.
SEP involves installation of six well templates with 24 wells that will be tied back to the Snorre A platform.
The plan includes further expansion with additional well templates. SEP is expected to increase recovery from the Snorre field by 32 million standard m³ of oil (200 million barrels), improving the recovery rate of the field from 46% to 51%.
When production started, Snorre’s expected field life was up to 2011-2014. With the contribution from SEP, the field is expected to have profitable production until 2040.