Point Resources to sanction Balder X project in 2019

Independent E&P company Point Resources expects to sanction its Balder X project located in the North Sea offshore Norway next year and deliver first production in 2021. 

Point Resources owns a 100% interest in the Balder license, following the company’s takeover of ExxonMobil’s interests in Balder, Ringhorne, Ringhorne East, Jotun, and Forseti fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf back in November 2017.

As the operator and sole owner of the Balder field, Point Resources has been working on its Balder X project, which has a total investment estimate of about NOK 15 billion ($2.9B).

Point Resources said in its 3Q 2018 report on Monday that the project was progressing according to plan.

In June 2018, Point Resources approved passing the first decision gate for the Balder X project that will extend the Balder and Ringhorne field life to 2045.

FID in 2019 

The project involves taking the Jotun FPSO from the North Sea to a yard on the shore in 2020 for life extension modifications, followed by relocation to the Balder/Ringhorne area, the company explained.

Sixteen new subsea wells will then be tied into the relocated Jotun FPSO and five additional wells will be drilled at Ringhorne as a continuation of the already sanctioned Ringhorne Phase III drilling program. The life of Balder FPU will be extended to 2030. Final Investment Decision (FID) for the project is planned for 2019, with production start-up in 2021.

Two exploration wells in the Balder/Ringhorne area have been sanctioned for drilling next year. Successful outcome of these wells will be reflected in the overall Balder X area development plan and further grow the resource potential in Point Resources’ operated acreage.

It is important to remind that the Jotun field, developed with a production vessel (Jotun A) and a wellhead platform (Jotun B), was permanently shut down in December 2016 due to production decline. The Jotun A facility provides spare production capacity. In order to utilize this capacity, Balder and Ringhorne are connected to Jotun A via a gas pipeline, allowing parts of the Ringhorne volumes to produce via the Jotun FPSO, in addition to the Balder FPSO.

Offshore Energy Today Staff