ConocoPhillips files development plan for cross-border North Sea field

Oil major ConocoPhillips has submitted its plan for the development and operation of the Tommeliten A field in the North Sea to Norwegian and UK authorities.

The Tommeliten A field is primarily a Norwegian development, however, as the field extends into the UK Sector, it is being developed in accordance with the UK and Norwegian authorities’ guidelines for the development of transboundary oil and gas fields. As a result, the plan for the Tommeliten A was submitted to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the UK Oil and Gas Authority, ConocoPhillips said on Monday.

The development concept is a two-by-six slot subsea production system (SPS) with ten production wells and an electrically heated flowline, tied into the Ekofisk Complex, including the installation of a new processing module. The resource potential for the Tommeliten A field is estimated to be in the range of 80-180 million barrels of oil equivalent, mainly comprising gas condensate. The new greenfield facilities will be located about 25 kilometres southwest of the Ekofisk Complex.

According to ConocoPhillips, several contracts will be awarded during the project period and many of the contracts are anticipated to be awarded to Norwegian businesses. The total capital investment associated with the project is estimated to be approximately NOK 13 billion ($1.5 billion gross) and the first production is expected in 2024.

Norway’s Aker Solutions has already been awarded a large topside modification contract by ConocoPhillips for the Tommeliten Alpha project. This contract award, in combination with previous subsea contracts for this project, means Aker Solutions has been assigned an integrated responsibility for this field development.

“The field development will unlock production of new resources in the area and further strengthen the Ekofisk legacy and future,” said Steinar Våge, ConocoPhillips President Europe, Middle East and North Africa.

Proven in 1977, the ConocoPhillips-operated Tommeliten Alpha is a discovery in the southern part of the Norwegian sector in the North Sea, approximately 25 kilometres southwest of the Ekofisk field. The water depth is 75 meters and the reservoir lies at a depth of about 3,000 meters.