Equinor and its partners have agreed to invest about NOK1.4bn ($163.9m) to ramp up production of the Vigdis field in the Norwegian North Sea by nearly 11 million barrels.
Image: Subsea installation for the Vigdis field in the North Sea. Photo: courtesy of André Osmundsen/Equinor ASA.
The Vigdis field, which is located in the Tampen area in block 34/7 (PL089), has been producing oil since 1997 through a tie back to the Snorre A tension leg platform at the Snorre oil field. The subsea field has so far produced 394 million barrels, and its recoverable resources have been increased to 455 million barrels oil.
A boosting station, which is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2021, will help increase the production at the Vigdis oil field.
Equinor project management control senior vice president Torger Rød said: “This is an improved oil recovery project which includes a multiphase boosting station that will increase production from existing wells. This adds new oil barrels at a highly competitive price.”
The boosting station will be linked to a pipeline to improve the capacity between Vigdis and the Snorre A platform. It will also help in bringing the well stream from the subsea field up to the platform.
Equinor said that the installation of the boosting station will reduce wellhead pressure, thereby enabling further increase in production from the wells.
Apart from subsea boosting station, the partners of PL089 will undertake certain modifications to the Snorre A platform including a new umbilical to enable power supply to the new boosting station.
Equinor has given a contract worth NOK700m ($81.94m) to OneSubsea for the delivery of the boosting system, including subsea template and trawling protection.
OneSubsea is expected to begin engineering of the boosting station this month in Bergen. A total of 500 people will be working on the delivery of the Vigdis boosting station, said Equinor.
The contract for the modifications on the Snorre A and B platforms is being planned to be given later while marine operations will be carried out under Equinor’s framework contracts.
Equinor is the operator of the Vigdis field with a stake of 41.5% and is partnered by Petoro (30%), ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway (16.1%), Idemitsu Petroleum Norge (9.6%) and DEA Norge (2.8%).