A plan for development and operation (PDO) of Statoil's Glitne field is being submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy today, 28 June.
The North Sea discovery is due to be developed using the Petrojarl 1 production and storage vessel, which is owned by Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS).
Plans call for drilling to start on 1 October and the field to come on stream in the third quarter of 2001.
Glitne contains some 25 million barrels of recoverable oil and will produce for 26 months, at an estimated maximum daily flow of some 40,000 barrels for the first 15 months.
Total investment is put at roughly NOK 800 million, which also includes drilling of three production wells and two water injectors.
"We're using a rig from Statoil's existing fleet for production drilling," explains Tim Dodson, vice president for the Troll/Sleipner core area.
Petrojarl 1 will have about 40 crew, with Statoil normally keeping one representative on board. Its own operations organisation on land will total eight to 10 people.
"Leasing a production unit represents an interesting approach," explains Mr Dodson. "Experience we gain on Glitne could be useful for possible developments on other small fields."
Glitne ranks as the smallest discovery off Norway to be developed with an independent production solution.
Mr Dodson says that various options have been considered, including a tie-in with Statoil's Sleipner facilities and with UK infrastructure.
Statoil has 38.9 per cent of Glitne, the state's direct financial interest (SDFI) 30 per cent, Elf 21.8 per cent and Norsk Hydro 9.3 per cent.
The group is currently awaiting official approval for its sale of a 10 per cent stake in the field to Det Norske Oljeselskap (DNO).