First gas flows from subsea tie-back offshore Norway

Norwegian oil and gas company OKEA has brought on stream its first operated development project as a subsea tie-back to an existing platform in the Norwegian Sea.

After OKEA decided to develop the Hasselmus field as a subsea tie-back to the Draugen platform for further processing and export, the production start-up was planned for the fourth quarter of 2023 with gross plateau gas production of more than 4,400 boepd.

Back in July 2021, Aker Solutions was awarded a contract to modify the Draugen platform to enable the processing of gas from the Hasselmus discovery. The subsea rock installation to support the new gas pipeline from Hasselmus to Draugen was executed by OneSubsea and Subsea 7. Hasselmus is seen as an important enabler for the long-term development of Draugen.

According to OKEA, the production from the Hasselmus gas discovery started on October 1, 2023. This project is expected to recover approximately 1.65 GSm3 of natural gas and will restart the export of associated gas and NGL from Draugen.  

Svein J. Liknes, OKEA’s CEO, commented: “The Hasselmus project is the first development project for OKEA as operator. The project is important for the long-term development of Draugen and demonstrates our ability to extend the life of mature fields to maximize value creation on the NCS. We appreciate the good collaboration with our partners, suppliers, and a dedicated organization which has enabled the delivery of the project ahead of schedule and below budget.”

Located on the western edge of the Trøndelag platform in the Norwegian Sea, 7 km northwest of the Draugen platform, the Hasselmus gas discovery (well 6407/9-9 T2) was drilled on the Hasselmus structure by A/S Norske Shell in 1999 and encountered a 16-meter gas column and a 6.8-meter oil column in high-quality sands at a depth of 1,700 meters.

OKEA (44.56%) is the operator of the Draugen license and the Hasselmus project while its partners are Petoro (47.88%) and M Vest Energy (7.56%). The Draugen field is located in the southern part of the Norwegian Sea. Since taking over the operatorship of the field in 2018, OKEA has worked on reducing downtime and optimizing production.

Discovered in 1984, the Draugen field has been developed with a concrete fixed facility and integrated topside. It has both platform and subsea wells. The work to prepare for the power from shore project to the Draugen production platform is ongoing. This project includes an extension of the power supply to the nearby Njord field. The project’s final investment decision and submission of a plan for development and operations (PDO) were completed in December 2022.

This project is expected to reduce emissions by 330,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The completion and the start-up of the project are anticipated in the first quarter of 2027. Draugen and Njord, which will require up to 80 MW annually, will be connected to the power grid at Tensio’s transformer station at Straum in Åfjord municipality, which has an annual capacity of 200 MW. 

OKEA will be responsible for developing the power infrastructure from shore to Draugen and Equinor will be in charge of the cable from Draugen to Njord and modifications and upgrades on Njord A.