Aker BP starts production from North Sea Hanz field

Aker BP has started production from Hanz field in license 028 B in the North Sea. Hanz is a subsea field development tied into the Ivar Aasen platform about 15 km south.

Total investments are estimated at close to NOK 5 billion and total reserves are around 20 MMboe. 

Hanz was discovered in 1997. After the delivery of the plan for development and operation (PDO) for the Ivar Aasen area, which included the Hanz development, the project matured an optimized development solution by re-using subsea production systems (SPS) from Jette field. It is the first time that production equipment has been re-used in a new field development on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the operator said. 

The strategy for how the oil and gas is to be recovered was changed to include use of a cross-flow well for water injection aimed at reducing power consumption, reducing chemicals use, and requiring less equipment on the seabed (OGJ Online, Dec. 15, 2021).

Ivar Aasen field lies on the Utsira High in the northern part of the North Sea, around 175 km west of Karmøy. 

The field was discovered in 2008, and was joined with other discoveries in the area, including Hanz. First oil from Ivar Aasen was produced on Dec. 24, 2016.

Ivar Aasen receives power from the Edvard Grieg platform 10 km to the southeast. Since 2022, the field has recieved power from shore via Johan Sverdrup field, minimizing CO₂ emissions (OGJ Online, Dec. 14, 2022).

Aker BP is operator at Hanz with 35% interest. Partners are Equinor Energy AS (50%) and Sval Energy (15%).