Statoil, Centrica and ExxonMobil, and Tord Lien, the minister of petroleum and energy, celebrated the 5 billion boe mark that has been delivered by Statfjord since first oil in 1979 today (19 September).
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Arne Sigve Nylund (left), with Minister of petroleum and energy Tord Lien. Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland) |
The minister got the honor of filling the barrel, which was decorated in golden color for the occasion.
“The spin-offs created by Statfjord can hardly be exaggerated. Generating more than US$181 billion (NOK 1500 billion) in revenues and 200,000 direct and indirect man-years since the 1970s the field has been of great importance to the Norwegian society,” Arne Sigve Nylund, Statoil’s executive vice president for development and production Norway said.
Statfjord is in the Norwegian part of the field, in Blocks 33/9 and 33/12 in license 037. The UK part of the field is located in the UK block 211/25 in licenses 104 and 293.
Originally, Statoil and its partners hoped to recover 40% of the oil at Statfjord, however, results have reached a record-high of 67%, the company said.
“On this historic day we take a retrospective view. This, however, is also a story about the future, describing how knowledge, skills and experience acquired through many years across the oil industry are harnessed to create ever more values and new activity. Statfjord was supposed to be shut down more than 10 years ago. Instead technology development, smart solutions and clever decisions have extended the productive life and increased the level of activity. This is characteristic of Norwegian oil history and something we will build on in Statfjord’s next chapter and on the NCS for many decades to come,” Nylund said.
Increased production for the fourth consecutive year
Thanks to active subsurface work, efficient drilling and well operations, and well-operated installations, Statfjord successfully increased production for the fourth consecutive year. A total of 451 wells have been drilled on the field, and more than 40 years after the field was discovered new profitable wells are still being drilled.
Statfjord is still producing oil. However, the most important decision after the turn of the millennium was made in 2005. Through the Statfjord Late Life project, the field was converted from an oil field to a gas field by reducing the reservoir pressure. A bold decision by the partnership, and a successful implementation with important contribution from the suppliers.
About $2.8 billion (NOK 23 billion) was invested, and production was maintained during the conversion process. The work included the drilling of 70 new wells and extensive modifications to the platforms.
The high recovery factor is largely thanks to the Statfjord Late Life project, lifting the horizon towards 2025. This means that the old oil giant Statfjord will still be producing when a new giant by the name of Johan Sverdrup has started its 50-year production.
Statoil is the operator of Statfjord with 44.34 %. Partners include ExxonMobil E&P Norway (21.37 %), Centrica Resources (Norge) (19.76 %) and Centrica Resources (14.53 %).
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