The Norwegian authorities have approved the plans for development and operation (PDO) of Njord and Bauge located in the Norwegian Sea.

As part of the plans, Statoil will recover the remaining resources in the Njord and Hyme fields by upgrading the Njord A platform and the Njord Bravo floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO).  

Bauge is a new field to be developed and tied to the Njord A platform.

According to the Norwegian energy company’s estimates, the the remaining resources in Njord and Hyme fields have a total of 175 million barrels of oil equivalent and this represents the reserves produced from the Njord field since the production of first oil in 1997.

Apart from this, about 73 million barrels of oil equivalent are estimated to be produced from the Bauge field.

Statoil project development head Torger Rød said:  “We are pleased that the authorities have now approved the plans for Njord and Bauge, two important fields on the Norwegian continental shelf.

“The investments, totalling NOK20bn ($2.3bn), will trigger high activities and spin-offs for the Norwegian society and Norwegian supply industry.”

Plans for the development and operation of the Njord and Bauge fields were submitted to Norwegian authorities in March this year. The original PDO for the Njord field was submitted more than 20 years ago, stated the company.

The Njord field is estimated to produce oil for another twenty years. Statoil and its partners have decided to upgrade and reuse both the Njord A platform and the Njord Bravo FSO.

Bauge field development concept includes one subsea template, two oil producers and one water inject.

The Njord partners are planning to award the contract for upgrading the Njord Bravo FSO in 2018. First oil is expected to be produced by the end of 2020.

Rød said: “Kværner at Stord has been awarded the contract for upgrading the platform and work facilitating the tie-in of Bauge and potential future third-party tie-ins.”

Statoil Operations North, Development and Production Norway senior vice president Siri Espedal Kindem said: “Njord remaining on stream until 2040 is important for our specialist communities in Kristiansund and Stjørdal, as well as the mid-Norway supply industry.

“An upgraded field centre and new infrastructure at Njord also allows for the development of other fields in the area.”

Image: Statoil’s Njord A platform. Photo: Courtesy of Thomas Sola/Statoil.