Oil and gas company Spirit Energy has received consent for the extended use of the facilities on the Vale offshore field in Norway.
The Vale gas field is located in the North Sea, 16 kilometers north of the Heimdal field.
The field is developed with a subsea template including one horizontal production well with a single sidetrack, tied-back to the Equinor's Heimdal platform. Production from the Vale field started in 2002.
The well stream from Vale is routed to Heimdal for processing and export. Gas is transported via Vesterled to St Fergus in the UK. Condensate is transported by pipeline to the Brae field in the UK sector and further to Cruden Bay.
Vale, which produces both gas and condensate, had been expected to cease production in 2021/22 period.
However, the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has now given Spirit Energy consent to use the facilities on the Vale field beyond their original lifespan.
"In order to recover the remaining reserves on the Vale field, Spirit Energy has applied for consent to extend the life of the field. We have now granted consent for a life extension to 11 June 2023," the PSA Norway said this week, adding that its consent had been given on the basis of Spirit Energy’s documentation of assessments which conclude that the facilities can continue to be operated safely.