Njord A platform to undergo renovation, reinforcement work

The Njord A platform arrived under tow Aug. 25 at Stord, Norway, where Kvaerner Stord AS will renovate and reinforce the structure for production beyond 2030.

Oil and gas production from the platform and from Njord field should have, in fact, ceased by now. When the field was first developed, it was slated to produce until 2013.

“We have been able to recover more of the reserves than originally expected, and following new discoveries and the Snilehorn development, field production will continue for at least 10 more years, said Snorre Grande, project director for the Njord Future project.

The commercial basis for the Njord A renovation still requires production from Njord and Hyme, where operator Statoil ASA has identified 177 million boe remaining to be produced.

Scheduled for tie-in to Njord, the Snilehorn discovery contains 66 million bbl. These two fields combined will provide more recoverable resources than Gina Krog field, which is currently under development on the Norwegian continental shelf.

To enable Njord A to receive these resources, the hull must first of all be reinforced. Extensive renovation on board the platform will also be made, Statoil said.

Njord has been on stream for 6,821 days, and 54 wells have been drilled, including exploration wells. A total of 167 million bbl of oil and 41 billion standard cu m of gas have been produced since its startup almost 20 years ago, Statoil said.

Kvaerner Stord in April was let the framework contract for renovation of the platform. Preengineering will continue throughout this year.

Statoil restarted oil and gas production from Njord A platform in mid-2014 in the Norwegian Sea after being shut for maintenance for nearly a year (OGJ Online, July 21, 2014).

Extensive analyses in 2013 revealed a need to reinforce the platform structure. Maintenance work included bracing the primary beams and struts, and increasing the length of the secondary beams under the platform.