Production from Equinor’s first unmanned wellhead platform to start in September

Equinor will start production from the Oseberg H platform in September after it received the start-up approval from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) on Friday.

Oseberg H is a new unmanned wellhead platform that is part of the Oseberg Vestflanken 2 development project in the North Sea. Oseberg H is a new type of facility on the Norwegian Shelf, and the NPD added that it was positive that the licensees developed a cost-effective development solution with an unmanned wellhead platform.

Planned investments in the plan for development and operation (PDO) totaled NOK 8.2 billion. The costs have subsequently been reduced to NOK 6.5 billion.

The development increases the recoverable reserves in Oseberg by 17.6 million standard cubic meters of oil equivalents (Sm3) – 9.9 Sm3 oil (62 million barrels) and 7.8 billion Sm3 gas).

To remind, Equinor received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority to put the Oseberg H platform into commission back in April.

Oseberg H and Vestflanken 2

Equinor is the operator of the Oseberg field, which is in the northern sector of the North Sea. The field has been developed in several stages, and production began in 1988.

Equinor submitted the PDO for Oseberg Vestflanken 2 to Norwegian authorities in December 2015, and Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy sanctioned it in June 2016.

Vestflanken 2 has been developed using the Oseberg H fixed wellhead platform with ten well slots. Oseberg H and the wells will be remotely operated and monitored from the Oseberg field center.

In addition to Oseberg H with its associated pipelines and umbilical, the plan includes continued use of the G4 subsea template, along with modifications on the Oseberg field center.

The platform, installed during the summer of 2017, is Equinor’s first unmanned wellhead platform with a topside weighing just 1,100 tonnes, making it the company’s smallest platform. Due to its small size, it doesn’t have processing equipment, living quarters, drilling plant, or a helideck.

Oseberg Vestflanken 2 is the first of three planned phases for developing the remaining reserves in the Oseberg area.