Equinor granted consent for continued use of Snorre A, B through 2040

Equinor ASA has received consent from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to continue use of the Snorre A and Snorre B facilities in Snorre oil and gas field in the Tampen area of the Norwegian North Sea through 2040. Previous consent was use of Snorre A until May 1, 2022, and Snorre B until May 1, 2021.

In 2013, Equinor, then Statoil, recommended the construction of a drilling and processing platform for extracting the remaining reserves from Snorre field. With license partners, Equinor has worked to extend Snorre field life to 2040 (OGJ Online, Oct. 28, 2013).

In July, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy approved the revised plan for development and operation of the Snorre expansion project (SEP), focused on cost-efficient enhanced recovery from the Snorre reservoir and expected to contribute to 25 more years of production.

SEP comprises installation of six well templates with 24 wells that will be tied back to the Snorre A platform. The plan includes an option for further expansion with additional well templates. SEP is expected to increase recovery from the field by 32 million standard cu m of oil (200 million bbl), raising the field’s recovery rate to 51% from 46%. At startup, the expected field life was up to 2011-14. Original oil reserves were 307 million standard cu m (1,929 million bbl). Remaining oil reserves are estimated at 94 million cu m (590 million bbl).

Snorre A is a floating drilling, production, and living quarters platform moored to the seabed with tension legs. Snorre UPA is a subsea production facility tied back to Snorre A. There is also a dedicated process module on Snorre A for full stabilization of the well stream from Vigdis. Production started in 1992.

In 1998, the authorities approved the PDO for the Snorre B facility, a semisubmersible integrated drilling, process, and living quarters platform. Snorre B started production in 2001.