An uptick in the number of recovery projects in Norway, driven by the country’s oil and gas giant Equinor, will unlock significant oil reserves, according to GlobalData.
The market intelligence firm’s research suggests the average oil recovery of producing fields in Norway is currently around 45%, while gas fields are at 70%.
These rates have been made possible by recent technological advancement and large sums of investment, alongside a series of government initiatives.
Daniel Rogers, upstream oil and gas analyst at GlobalData, said: “Field expansion projects in Norway remain competitive against ongoing planned greenfield developments, and are projected to unlock vast reserves at viable investment levels.
“Norwegian giant Equinor has a strong track record of maximising recovery from major fields in its home country.
“The company has been able to achieve greater than 50% recovery factors from large fields, including Statfjord and Gullfaks, through enhanced and improved recovery mechanisms.
“Utilising innovative technologies, improved production efficiencies, and enhanced recovery practices have been key to Equinor’s success in maximising value from Norwegian fields.”
Room for growth in Norwegian oil recovery projects
GlobalData’s analysis suggests Norway is home to the highest number of under-construction oil and gas expansion projects anywhere in the world and will soon exceed $10bn in total capital expenditure.
Alongside Equinor, Petoro is expected to spend the majority of this, with Wintershall DEA and Var Energi also in the mix.
Wintershall DEA, specifically, recently completed the installation of two subsea templates for the €1.1bn ($1.23bn) Nova field development project offshore Norway.
The 300 tonne templates, which were sailed to the Nova field by Subsea 7’s Seven Arctic vessel, are to be tied back to the Neptune-operated Gjøa platform.
Over the past decade, however, just nine enhanced oil recovery projects have started operations across the Norwegian continental shelf.
Looking ahead, less than 10% of producing fields in the country are due to receive oil recovery work, highlighting large potential for growth.
