Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP has started production from the second phase of the Ærfugl field development in the Norwegian Sea.
Karl Johnny Hersvik, Aker BP CEO said: "Aker BP’s goal is to produce oil and gas with as low cost and emissions as possible to maximize value creation for our owners and for the society at large. The Ærfugl project demonstrates our ability to deliver on this strategy."
The Ærfugl development is tied into the existing production vessel (FPSO) on the Skarv field, which is located approx. 210 km west of Sandnessjøen.
The field has been developed in two phases, with three wells in the southern part as phase 1 and another three wells in the northern part of the field in phase 2.
The Ærfugl field development extends the life of the Skarv FPSO by five years and reduces CO2 emissions by 30-40% per barrel produced.
"The Ærfugl project has brought significant local ripple effects for suppliers in the Helgeland region. The subsea modules, which consist of world-leading technology and building blocks from around the world, have been assembled for completion in Sandnessjøen and then transported offshore," Aker BP said.
Aker BP has described the Ærfugl project as one of the most profitable developments on the Norwegian shelf with a break-even price of less than USD 15 per barrel.
The Ærfugl reservoir (formerly called Snadd) was discovered in 2000 and is located just west of Skarv, Aker BP’s northernmost producing field in the Norwegian Sea.
Production from the Ærfugl phase 1 started on November 12, 2020. The reservoir holds a total of around 300 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent.