Smørbukk Nord Development, Norwegian Sea

The drilling showed that the size of the discovery is between 4 and 7.5 million standard cubic metres (Sm³) of recoverable oil equivalents as per preliminary estimates.

Smørbukk Nord Location Details

The Smørbukk Nord Discovery is located in the Norwegian Sea.

The discovery is included in the Åsgard Field which is located in the central Norwegian Sea at water depths of between 240m and 300m.

Smørbukk Nord Discovery and Reserves

For planning and appraisal, the wildcat well 6506/9-3 was drilled on the Halten Terrace on the Smørbukk Nord in the Norwegian Sea.

The main objective of drilling was to find the presence of petroleum in the Middle-Early Jurassic Garn, Ile, and Tofte formations.

The other objectives of drilling were to prove petroleum in the Early Jurassic Tilje, Ror, and Åre formations and test the presence of hydrocarbon-bearing sands in the Early Cretaceous Intra-Lange Formation sandstones.

The well was drilled with Transocean Leader, a semi-submersible installation, in June 2013 to a total depth of 4,692m in the Early Jurassic Åre Formation. No shallow gas was found while drilling the well.

To a depth of 1,171m, the well was drilled with seawater and hi-vis and from 1,171m to 4,692m with XP-07 oily mud.

Between 3,723m and 3,885m, partially calcite-cemented sand stringers containing fair gas saturation were penetrated in the Lange Formation.

A 47m gas/condensate column was encountered in the Garn and Upper Not formations at 4,284m with a down-to-contact.

The reservoir characteristics in the Garn and Upper Not formations were found to be of good quality and poor quality in the Ile Formation.

At 4,305.7m, gas condensate was proved in the MDT sample of the Ile Formation and oil in the sample at 4,346m.

As per the geochemical analysis of the cores, a gas-oil contact was encountered at 4,346m and oil at 4,348m.

The Åre Formation was found wet with water and the deeper Tilje and Tofte formations contained gas in a tight reservoir.

The MDT fluid samples were taken at 4,250.9m (gas condensate), 4,305.7m (gas condensate), and 4,346m (oil and water). All were found to be highly contaminated with mud filtrate.

No stem drill test was performed on the well so, the well was permanently abandoned in August 2013 as a gas/condensate discovery.

A production well 65006/12-NC-1 was put to drilling in November 2023 with the semi-submersible installation Transocean Encourgae.

The drilling is being conducted to test the presence of gas/condensate in the well.

Smørbukk Nord Project Details

The development of the Smørbukk Nord Discovery will increase the lifetime and recovery from the Åsgard Field.

In October 2022, the Final Investment Decision (FID) of the Smørbukk Nord Discovery was finalised.

As a brownfield discovery, the discovery will be developed with a subsea tieback in the Åsgard Field on the continental shelf of Norway.

The infrastructure of the discovery will include a high-pressure and a high-temperature subsea production system and related facilities.

The Åsgard B gas and condensate platform is being modified for increased production from the Smørbukk reservoir.

The modifications include installation of systems for high- and low-pressure production, replacement of reinjection compressors, and other modifications.

For drilling in the block 6506/9, the Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway has given consent to Equinor to use Transocean Encourage in June 2023.

In February 2024, Equinor received the consent of the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) to use the Smørbukk Nord Discovery and associated modifications on Åsgard B.

Contractors Involved

Equinor selected TechnipFMC for an Integrated Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (iEPCI) contract for the Smørbukk Nord Discovery in January 2022.

The contract was followed by the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract of the project awarded in 2021.

The modifications contract of the Åsgard B gas and condensate platform was awarded by Equinor to Aker Solutions in March 2021.

The scope of the contract includes Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) of new equipment for the platform.

The work on the contract has commenced and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

For the work, around 415 man-years are expected with more than 1,600 jobs.

Transocean Leader is owned by Transocean Offshore Europe and Transocean Encourage by Transocean Services.