Statoil has made an upward adjustment to the reserves in the Kvitebjørn field in the North Sea, and submitted a revised plan for development and operation to the authorities today, 16 February.
In the original plan the field was estimated to contain 47 billion cubic metres of gas and 105 million barrels of condensate.
After re-mapping the field, Statoil wants to recover the volumes in the field’s flank areas and include them in the development. The estimate of recoverable reserves is thereby increased to 52 billion cubic metres of gas and 135 million barrels of condensate.
According to project head Bjarne Bakken, the increase means that 11 wells will be drilled instead of nine. They will also be placed differently compared to the original plan.
“We also need more time to prepare each well because the well tracks will be longer,” says Mr Bakken.
More wells and longer well tracks mean that the investments for the development will increase by NOK 500 million in 1999 money. The platform concept will, however, not be changed.
The total investments in Kvitebjørn, including oil and gas trunklines and hook-up to the gas treatment facilities at Kollsnes, amount to NOK 10 billion in nominal terms.
The field will be ready to deliver gas by October 2004. Statoil has a 40 per cent share in the field. In addition, the state’s direct financial interest (SDFI) has 40 per cent, Norsk Hydro 15 per cent and TotalFinaElf five per cent.