Statoil submits Johan Castberg field development plan

Statoil has submitted the plan for development and operation for its Johan Castberg project in the Barents Sea, offshore Norway.

The field development concept includes an FPSO and a subsea development with a total of 30 wells, 10 subsea templates and two satellite structures.

According to Statoil, this is the biggest subsea field under development in the world today.

The Johan Castberg development costs are estimated at around NOK 49 billion (approximately $5.9 billion). The jobs generated nationwide during the development are estimated at slightly less than 47,000 man-years, some 1800 of which will be located in Northern Norway.

“This is a great day! We have finally succeeded in realizing the Johan Castberg development. The project is central part of the further development of the northern regions, and will create substantial value and spinoffs for Norway for 30 years,” says Margareth Øvrum, Statoil’s executive vice president for Technology, Projects and Drilling.

Recoverable resources are estimated at 450 – 650 million barrels of oil equivalent. This makes the Johan Castberg project the biggest offshore oil and gas development to be given the go-ahead in 2017. First oil is scheduled for 2022.

Øvrum says: “Johan Castberg has brought challenges. The project was not commercially viable due to high capital expenditures of more than NOK 100 billion and a break-even oil price of more than $80 per barrel. We have been working hard together with our suppliers and partners, changing the concept and finding new solutions in order to realise the development. Today we are delivering a solid PDO for a field with halved capital expenditures and which will be profitable at oil prices of less than $35 per barrel.”

Backbone for the North

“Johan Castberg will be the sixth project to come on stream in Northern Norway. The field will be a backbone of the further development of the oil and gas industry in the North. Infrastructure will also be built in a new area on the Norwegian continental shelf. We know from experience that this will create new development opportunities,” says Arne Sigve Nylund, Statoil’s executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.

The Johan Castberg field will have a supply and helicopter base in Hammerfest and an operations organisation in Harstad. The costs of operating the field are estimated at some NOK 1.15 billion per year. This will represent about 1700 man-years nationwide, some 500 of which will be located in Northern Norway. This includes both direct and indirect effects.

“Johan Castberg will be producing for more than 30 years, and the greatest spinoffs will be generated in the long production phase. Castberg will create considerable activities for Norwegian supply companies and generate ripple effects in Northern Norway,” Nylund says.

Parallel with the submission of the PDO, Statoil is signing a contract for the Johan Castberg subsea system and engineering and procurement management, both with Aker Solutions. The contracts have a total value of about NOK 4 billion.