ExxonMobil has received consent to use a new subsea well on the Balder field.
ExxonMobil is the operator of the Balder field, in block 25/11 in the Norwegian North Sea, around 190km west of Stavanger.
The Balder field belongs to production licence PL 001. The first oil discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf was made in this field back in 1967, says the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority. At the time, the discovery was not assessed to be commercially viable. Around 30 years later, new investigations were undertaken that resulted in the field being developed and produced, starting in 1999.
The Balder field has been developed using subsea wells and a floating production unit (FPU). Originally, production was estimated to last until 2011. Partly as a result of the Ringhorne field being tied back to Balder FPU in 2006, ExxonMobil received consent to extend the facility's operating life to 2025.
In 2013, the PSA granted consent to use six new subsea wells on the field. ExxonMobil has now received consent to use yet another subsea well, designated E-29-AH. The well is around 3500m from Balder FPU.