Transocean rig undertaking drilling ops at field offshore Norway

Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor has begun drilling activities with one of Transocean’s rigs at a field in the Norwegian Sea, which will be tied back to an existing floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit off the coast of Norway.

Equinor secured the all-clear signal for the Verdande subsea development at the end of 2022. This field will be connected to the FPSO Norne at the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea. The Norwegian ministry believes that the development of this project contributes to good utilization of existing infrastructure and can extend the life of Norne, which has been producing since 1997.

Equinor has confirmed the start of drilling operations on the Verdande subsea field, which are being carried out with the Transocean Encourage rig, which got hired on a nine-well contract with six more optional wells. The rig is expected to stay with the firm until November 2025, when it is due to start operations in Norway with an undisclosed company.

The field, which is scheduled to come on stream in the fourth quarter of next year, entails investments of about NOK 5 billion (around $447.61 million). This is expected to provide a replenishment of oil for the FPSO Norne, which has already been producing for 27 years.

“Verdande is a good example of how we work on the Norwegian continental shelf to tie new discoveries back to existing fields. We benefit from existing installations and pipelines, which makes it profitable to develop smaller discoveries. At the same time, the large fields receive more oil and gas, which extends their lifetime, value creation and jobs,” highlighted Equinor.

The Norwegian state-owned energy player claims that these drilling operations will increase activity at the supply base in Sandnessjøen and the helicopter base in Brønnøysund. The wells are planned at Equinor’s office in Stjørdal. Once Verdande starts production, it is anticipated to help maintain the 1,000 man-years associated with the operation of the Norne field.

Located in the Norwegian Sea at water depths of 350-380 meters, around 300 kilometers southwest of the city of Bodø in North Norway, Verdande comprises the Cape Vulture and Alve North-East discoveries, which were proven in 2017 and 2020, respectively. The oil will be lifted by a tanker, and the gas will be piped via Åsgard Transport to Kårstø. 

The recoverable resources are estimated at around 36 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The Norwegian ministry believes that the extended life at Norne could lead to increased recovery corresponding to 11 million boe until 2035, if production from Verdande becomes possible.

Equinor's drilling ops at Verdande

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The CO2 intensity of this development is calculated at 1.6 kg CO2 per barrel of oil equivalent. The operator explains that the field name comes from Norse mythology, as Verdande is one of the three Norns, the Fates, who spin the threads of fate for humans and gods at the foot of Yggdrasil.

Equinor is the operator of the Verdande license with a 59.3% interest, while its partners are Petoro (22.4%), Vår Energi (10.5%), Aker BP (7%), PGNIG Upstream Norway (0.8%). The Norne license has applied for a lifetime extension until 2036. The production facilities encompass the FPSO Norne and 15 subsea templates, including 52 wells.