Aker BP and partner Pandion Energy reported first oil production from Aker BP-operated Valhall Flank West in the North Sea. The facility is a further development of Valhall field in the southern part of the Norwegian Continental Shelf, 290 km offshore.
A plan for development and operation for Valhall Flank West was approved in 2018 with an investment estimate of 5.5 billion kroner. Start-up was approved by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate in October (OGJ Online, Oct. 2, 2019). Aker BP Chief Executive Officer Karl Johnny said the project was delivered ahead of schedule and within budget.
Tied to Valhall field center, the facility is an unmanned facility with 12 well slots.
Reserves are estimated at 9.6 million standard cu m of oil equivalent (60 million bbl). The estimate is a median value, the NPD has said, and indicates some uncertainty regarding how much can be recovered.
Valhall produces oil from chalk in the Upper Cretaceous Hod and Tor formations. Reservoir depth is 2,400 m. The Tor formation chalk is fine-grained and has good reservoir quality. Considerable fracturing allows oil and water to flow more easily than in the underlying Hod formation. Oil and natural gas liquids are routed via pipeline to Ekofisk field and further to Teesside. Gas is sent via Norpipe to Emden in Germany.
“Valhall Flank West is an important contribution to achieving our ambition for Valhall. The plan calls for the field to contribute close to 80 million barrels of oil equivalent to Valhall’s production,” said Kjetel Digre, senior vice-president operations and asset development, Aker BP.
The plan is to drill nine wells, but the option of drilling even more is being considered.
“Aker BP sees an enormous potential in the Valhall area. We have started removing old platforms from the field [center], we are investing in new wells, we are plugging old wells and we are actively seeking new business opportunities in the area. With Valhall Flank West on stream, this represents another important step towards achieving our ambition of another billion barrels from Valhall,” Digre said.
Aker BP is operator of Valhall with 90%. Pandion Energy AS holds the remaining interest.