New Statoil discovery in the Norwegian Sea
The discovery at Cape Vulture will be considered for tie-back to the FPSO at Norne, which has been in production since 1997. (Photo: Anne-Mette Fjærli/Statoil ASA)
Statoil has found oil and gas in the Cape Vulture well, near the Norne field.
Statoil has found oil and gas in the Cape Vulture well, near the Norne field.
- It’s great kicking off the new year with a discovery, says Jez Averty, senior vice president for exploration in Norway and the UK.
The discovery is estimated at between 20 and 80 million barrels of oil equivalents and lies five kilometres north-west of the Norne field in the Norwegian sea, off the shores of Brønnøysund and Sandnessjøen. The discovery will be considered for tie-back to the FPSO at the Norne field.
New search concept
The licence for drilling was awarded to Statoil one year ago, and Statoil commenced drilling early December last year. The drilling of the well is the result of the development of a new exploration concept for the Nordland Ridge.
Jez Averty says the company is pleased with having completed the exploration well within a year after the award, and is happy to announce Cape Vulture as worthy of developing.
- This goes to show how important it is with new areas, it demonstrates our ability to test new options quickly and it underlines how new ideas in mature areas may provide significant results, says Averty.
The fact that a discovery has been made in the Cape Vulture area now opens the area up for further exploration opportunities. Statoil is planning on a detailed analysis of the discovery and identifying new exploration targets in the area.
Backbone in the north
The Norne FPSO in the same area has produced since 1997, and since 2001, gas has been exported from Norne. It lies 200 kilometres off the coast of the Helgeland region, at a depth of 380 metres.
Statoil's Senior Vice President for Operations North Siri Kindem says they are very pleased with the new discovery.
- Norne is already a much greater success than we expected when the field was discovered. It has been the backbone of our ventures in the north from the very beginning and discoveries such Cape Vulture contribute to Norne’s long life, and to maintaining activities in the Norwegian Sea, Kindem says.
The shareholders in the operating licence are Statoil (operator, and 64 percent share), Petoro (24,5 percent share) and ENI Norway (11,5 percent share).
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Facts about the Norne Field
Oil and gas field in the Norwegian Sea.
Licence awarded in 1986, first discovery made in 1992 and first oil from Norne on 6 November 1997.
Includes blocks 6608/10 and 6608/11.
Productive life originally planned until 2014, the field has later been developed with additional resources.
The current ambition is to maintain operations at Norne until 2030.
More than 625 million barrels produced at a value of some NOK 500 billion (2016).
The field development concept includes subsea templates tied back to a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).
Flexible risers bring the well stream to the vessel, which rotates around a cylindrical turret moored to the seabed. Risers and umbilicals are also connected to the turret.
The vessel features a processing plant on deck and oil storage tanks.
The gas travels through the Norne gas export pipeline and the Åsgard transport trunk line via Kårstø north of Stavanger to continental Europe.
The distance from the field to the landfall at Dornum in Germany is more than 1,400 kilometres.
Source: Statoil
Cape Vulture lies five kilometres northwest of the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea. (Illustration: Statoil)