Fram Vest field came on stream 2 October. The subsea installation will increase utilization of the production and transport installations on Troll C in the years to come.
The Fram Vest development was completed on schedule and 15 percent below the original budget estimate of NOK 4.3 billion.
Preliminary estimates show that the development will cost NOK 3.6 billion. The field will produce for 15 years and plateau production from 1 January 2004 is forecast at just over 60,000 barrels of oil a day.
The commercially recoverable reserves in Fram Vest are estimated to total 100 million barrels of oil and 3.5 billion cubic metres of gas. The field is linked to Troll C by oil and gas pipelines which will transport the well stream to the platform for processing.
The oil will be transported in two 90 km long pipelines from Troll C to Mongstad. The gas will be reinjected as pressure support.
"In the development of Fram Vest, Hydro has taken advantage of the existing infrastructure in the Troll area. This first development may pave the way for the development of other low volume reservoirs in the area that are not profitable at present," says Torgeir Kydland, president of Hydro Operations and Production.
Owners:
| Hydro (operator): | 25 percent |
| Exxon Mobil: | 25 percent |
| Statoil: | 20 percent |
| Gaz de France: | 15 percent |
| Idemitsu: | 15 percent |