Statoil has secured approval from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to start production from the Gina Krog field in the North Sea.
Statoil, which operates the field with a 58.7% stake, expects to start production by the end of next month.
Staying on the seabed and an oil storage ship in water depths between 110m and 120m, the field has been developed with a production facility.
The oil will be exported through buoy loaders, while the gas will be transported to the Sleipner A platform for final processing.
Gas for gas injection is said to be imported from Zeepipe 2A, and the field will be connected to a joint solution with power supply from shore for the Utsira High.
Gina Krog includes recoverable reserves, comprising of 16.8 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of oil, 11.8 billion Sm3 gas and 3.2 million tonnes NGL.
Investment costs are expected to be around NOK30.9bn ($3.6bn) for the project.
Gina Krog project is situated around 30km northwest of Sleipner. It is originally a minor gas discovery north of Sleipner, It was first discovered in 1974.
Gina Krog landscape was assessed again, when oil and gas were discovered in the neighbouring structure Gina Krog Øst in 2007.
According to Statoil, the appraisal wells drilled on Gina Krog from 2008 to 2011 proved an oil column under the gas
In December 2012, the Gina Krog partners submitted a plan for development and operation (PDO). In October 2012, an impact assessment was submitted for consultation of the project.
The other partners in the Gina Krog project are Total, Kuwait’s KUFPEC, Poland’s PGNiG and Norway's Aker BP.
Image: Gina Krog is to be developed with a seabed production facility and a storage ship for oil. Photo: courtesy of Statoil.