100,000 Barrels: First Lifting of Oil Completed at Yme Offshore Field, OKEA Says

The first lifting of oil from Repsol's Yme field in the North Sea, offshore Norway, was completed Wednesday, OKEA, a partner in the project, said.

"A total volume of 100,000 barrels was lifted, of which OKEA will be allocated 15,000 barrels. Further commissioning of process systems and start-up of additional wells will continue over the next weeks which will enable ramp-up of production over the coming months as the process plant is tuned and optimized," OKEA said.

After years of delays, the offshore oil field started producing oil, again, in October 2021.

The Yme is a field in the southeastern part of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, 130 kilometers northeast of the Ula field, sitting in a water depth of 77-93 meters. 

The field was discovered in 1987. With Statoil (now Equinor) as the operator at the time, production started in 1996 and ceased in April 2001, a period during which the field had produced 50.3 million barrels of oil.

Years later, Canada's Talisman then attempted to redevelop the field using an SBM Offshore supplied mobile offshore production unit. However, the project was halted after Talisman found structural integrity issues with the platform, and in 2013, a decision was made to remove the platform and scrap it.

Spain's Repsol then took over the operatorship of the troubled field, after taking over Talisman in 2015. SBM's Yme MOPUstor platform was removed by the Pioneering Spirit vessel in 2016.

The Norwegian authorities in March 2018 approved Repsol's amended plan for development and operation for the redevelopment of Yme with a goal to bring the field online in 2020, using Maersk Drilling's Maersk Inspirer jack-up drilling and production platform for five years, with a five-year extension option. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused further delays, with the first oil date spilling over into 2021. 

In a statement on Monday, October 25, Repsol confirmed that first oil had been achieved from the YME field.

Repsol Norge is the operator of the Yme field with a 55% working interest. Partners in the Yme licence are Lotos Exploration and Production Norge AS (20% working interest), KUFPEC Norway ASA (10% working interest), and OKEA ASA (15% working interest).  Yme Map - Credit: OKEA