Norwegian oil and gas firm Equinor has received consent from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to start up work on the Snorre field redevelopment, in the Norwegian part of the North Sea.
The expansion of the Snorre field in the North Sea consists of six subsea templates, which will be tied into the Snorre A platform.
Now the Norwegian authorities have given Equinor and its partners consent to start up.
Under the redevelopment plan, 24 new wells, 13 production wells, and 11 VAG (water-alternating gas) injectors will be drilled.
The recoverable reserves were calculated at approx. 31 million standard cubic meters of oil equivalent (195 million barrels) in the amended plan for development and operation (PDO). This corresponds to about twice the oil reserves in the Gina Krog field in the North Sea.
"The expansion of Snorre is a result of tireless work by both the companies and the authorities; work which has been ongoing for close to 15 years,” says Arvid Østhus, the NPD’s assistant director development and operations – North Sea.
The Snorre field was proven in 1979 and currently produces from the Snorre A, Snorre B and Snorre UPA facilities.
In 2018, the licensees submitted an amended PDO for a redevelopment of the field, called the Snorre Expansion Project, and this was approved by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in the summer of 2018.
The Snorre field was originally estimated to last until 2011–2014. Now the field is expected to produce beyond 2040.