Wintershall, along with its project partners, has submitted a plan for development and operation (PDO) to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for the NOK9.9bn ($1.2bn) Nova oil field in the North Sea.
Image: Illustration of Nova subsea development field in the North Sea. Photo: courtesy of Wintershall.
Located 17km southwest of Gjøa and approximately 50km from Florø, the Nova field is planned to be developed as a subsea tie-back connecting two subsea templates to the nearby Gjøa platform for processing and export.
Additionally, Neptune-operated Gjøa platform will provide lift gas to the field and water injection for pressure support. The field will receive power from shore via this platform.
The two subsea templates comprise three production wells and three water injection wells.
Wintershall said that the field will be developed with the flexibility to accommodate one additional subsea template with four wells.
Scheduled to commence production in September 2021, the field is estimated to hold recoverable reserves of about 12.2 million standard cubic meters of oil equivalents (77 million barrels).
Wintershall Norge managing director Hugo Dijkgraaf said: “As well as selecting the most economically robust solution for developing the Nova field, utilizing existing infrastructure is the most environmentally friendly solution.
“We have a proven track record of using smart engineering to achieve our goals, and we are on that same path with Nova.
“Alongside our Maria and Vega fields, this latest development positions Wintershall Norge as an expert in subsea technology.”
The project partners, upon securing final approval from the Norwegian authorities, will commence execution phase of the field development work.
Wintershall operates the Nova (PL 418) with 35% stake. Other partners include Spirit with 20% interest, Capricorn with 20% interest, Edison with 15% stake and DEA with 10% interest.
Nova will be Wintershall Norge’s third operated subsea field. In December 2017, it delivered the Maria field in the Norwegian Sea.
Discovered in 2012, the Nova field is principally located in production license PL 418. Located in the so-called “Quadrant 35”, the field is expected to profit from this region’s rich infrastructure.