Verdande Field is a planned subsea development in the Norwegian Sea that is expected to make the Norne production vessel more energy efficient.
Equinor Energy operates the Verdande licence with a 59.3% stake. The other partners are Petoro (22.4%), Vår Energi (10.5%), Aker BP (7%), and PGNIG Upstream Norway (0.8%).
In December 2022, Equinor Energy submitted the Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for Verdande Subsea Development to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The investment at Verdande totals NOK4.7bn ($450m) (2022-value).
The drilling programme is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2024, with commercial production expected to begin in Q4 of 2025.
Project Gallery
The development of Verdande is aimed to meet the increase in energy demand by European customers.
Site details and Reserves
Verdande Field is located in the Nordland Ridge Area, approximately 300km south-west of the city of Bodø in North Norway.
The water depth at the site is around 350-380m.
The development comprises the Cape Vulture and Alve North-East discoveries, which were proven in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The two discoveries host a total of 36.3 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.
Background
The Norne field in blocks 6608/10 and 6608/11 was discovered in 1992 and it commenced production in November 1997. The development includes a production and storage vessel (FPSO) tiedhome into well templates on the seabed.
The project started exporting gas from February 2001.
In 2018, the Norne FPSO secured the consent for a life extension, enabling it to work on value creation from Norne field and satellite developments such as Alve, Urd, Skuld and Marulk fields.
The exploration for additional profitable infill wells continued with Equinor and other partners submitted the PDO for Verdande in December 2022.
The partners agreed to proceed with Verdande as the planned development will enable utilisation of spare capacity on the Norne vessel and will help in extending economic lifespan beyond 2026.
Additionally, the development is expected to generate economic benefits. A ripple effect study conducted by Bodø Science Park estimated that the project will create nearly 1,300 full-time equivalents over three-year development period from 2023 to 2025.
The study also determined Verdande Development as a socio-economically profitable and economically viable project.
Verdande Field Development
The Verdande Field Development will include a subsea template that will be tied back to the Norne FPSO vessel via a new pipeline.
The produced oil will be lifted by a tanker, while the gas recovered will be transported via pipeline from Åsgard Transport to Kårstø.
The Verdande field will be operated and maintained as an integral part of the Norne Field, utilising the supply base in Sandnessjøen, the helicopter base in Brønnøysund and employing local companies in engineering services and fabrication activity in North Norway.
The production will make Norne FPSO more energy efficient per unit of production. The carbon dioxide (CO2)-intensity of the Verdande development was determined to be 1.6 kg CO2 per barrel of oil equivalent.
Contractors Involved
In February 2023, a consortium between DeepOcean and Subsea7 received a contract from Equinor regarding the Verdande Field Development.
The scope of the contract includes engineering, transportation and installation of a 7.5km pipe-in-pipe production pipeline, flexibles, umbilical, and subsea structures and tie-ins.
The engineering and project management works will be carried out at DeepOcean’s office in Haugesund, Norway. Subsea7 will fabricate the pipelines at its spoolbase at Vigra, Norway.
The offshore operations are expected to take place in 2024, 2025 and 2026 by utilising Subsea 7’s and DeepOcean’s vessels.
DeepOcean’s share of the contract, which also includes works at Irpa development, is valued more than $60m.
Subsea7 defined the combined project award as ‘sizeable’- with the company’s share ranging between $50m and $150m.
TechnipFMC secured a contract, worth between $75m and $250m, to deliver the subsea production system for Verdande project.
The deliveries will include subsea trees and structures, control systems, connections, tooling, and installation support.