Equinor and partners on Sept. 1 started production from Snefrid Nord natural gas field, the first discovery tied back to Aasta Hansteen field, in the Norwegian Sea, setting a new depth record on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Snefrid Nord is expected to produce about 4 million cu m/day of gas in the plateau phase. Recoverable reserves are estimated at 4.4 billion cu m of gas. This will extend plateau production from Aasta Hansteen by almost a year. Aasta Hansteen came on stream in December 2018. Together with the Polarled pipeline the field opened a new region in the Norwegian Sea for gas export to Europe.
Equinor said capital expenditures for the development total about 1.2 billion kroner. The field was originally scheduled to start production at yearend.
Snefrid Nord was discovered in 2015 and field development was sanctioned in 2017 (OGJ Online, July 6, 2017). The concept includes one well in a subsea template tied back to Aasta Hansteen field by a pipeline and an umbilical. The template is installed in 1,309 m of water, making Snefrid Nord the deepest field development on the NCS.
Development of Snefrid Nord and Aasta Hansteen have been performed “in synergy,” said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor senior vice-president for project development. The two projects shared several suppliers and have combined campaigns and follow-up teams allowing the company to reuse technical solutions, Tungesvik said.
The template and the suction anchor have been delivered by Aker Solutions in Sandnessjoen, which also delivered the Aasta Hansteen template. The Transocean Spitsbergen drilling rig drilled the well while drilling the Aasta Hansteen wells, and Subsea 7 installed the template in the same campaign as the Aasta Hansteen risers. Pipeline end termination (PLET) for Snefrid Nord has been delivered by Momek in Mo i Rana.
With the infrastructure in place, more satellites may be developed in the area, Equinor said.
“There are several interesting prospects and discoveries around us. The new infrastructure makes it possible to develop them and more attractive to explore around the platform and along the pipeline,” said Siri Espedal Kindem, Equinor senior vice-president for operations north.
Equinor Energy AS serves as operator with 51%. Partners are Wintershall Dea 24%, OMV (Norge) AS 15%, and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS 10%.