Equinor cleared to use Rowan Stavanger rig for Gudrun ops

Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor has received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to use the Rowan Stavanger jack-up rig on the Gudrun field offshore Norway. 

The PSA said on Tuesday that the consent applies to the drilling of production wells on the Gudrun field in the North Sea. Drilling is scheduled to begin in September 2019.

Rowan Stavanger is a jack-up rig of the KFELS N class, delivered in 2011 by Keppel FELS Shipyard of Singapore.

Rowan Stavanger is operated by Rowan Drilling Norway, and received an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) from the PSA in June 2011.

Equinor awarded a five-month firm contract to Rowan Stavanger back in October 2018. The contract was for two wells at the Gudrun field but it also included five options for drilling of single wells.

The contract with Rowan Stavanger was based on the framework format, which gave Equinor exclusive right to use the rig up to 2025 if the rig is kept in continuous operation.

The Equinor-operated Gudrun field was developed with a traditional steel platform resting on the seabed. The platform has capacity for partial treatment of oil and gas, before the hydrocarbons are sent via pipeline to Sleipner.

The Gudrun field holds about 184 million barrels of oil equivalent. This is a high pressure, high temperature reservoir that requires special technology. Production started in 2014.

Oil and gas is transported from the Gudrun field to the Sleipner A platform. The gas is transported onward to the gas markets from Sleipner A. The oil is routed together with the Sleipner condensate to Kårstø for shipping.

In July 2019, partners in the Gudrun field decided to invest in a water injection plant on the field to improve reservoir recovery. This will extend the field life by three years compared to the original plan.

Offshore Energy Today Staff

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