Proposals have been drawn up by Statoil to extract roughly 35 million extra barrels from its Tordis field in the North Sea with the aid of new technology for improved oil recovery (IOR).
A revised plan for development and operation (PDO) incorporating this scheme has been submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in Oslo today, 21 October.
By installing a full-scale subsea separation facility, Statoil expects to improve the field’s recovery factor from 49 to 55 per cent.
Total investment in this Tordis IOR project is put at about NOK 1.8 billion.
“These plans show that it is possible to get more out of existing fields,” says project manager Hans Kristiansen.
“The philosophy behind our solution is simple. It represents a significant contribution to IOR from fields which are smaller, in deep water and/or remote from fixed installations.”
Tordis has been developed with subsea installations tied back to Statoil’s Gullfaks C platform.
This project represents the first time that full-scale subsea separation has been adopted.
The first step will be to reduce reception pressure on Gullfaks C, followed by installation of a subsea module on Tordis for separation and injection of water.
“This solution will also contribute to tail production and development in environmentally-sensitive sea areas,” explains Mr Kristiansen.
“In addition, it has a high value for us, our partners and our suppliers.”
A letter of intent was awarded by Statoil to Kongsberg FMC earlier this year covering a subsea separation station on Tordis under a deal worth some NOK 625 million including options.
The Tordis IOR subsea separation facility is due to come on stream in October 2007.