Production of natural gas from the Total-operated Skirne field in the North Sea started on the Heimdal platform on Tuesday night. The gas from Skirne is processed on the Heimdal platform, which has been modified for this specific purpose. The modifications to the Hydro-operated platform were completed one month earlier than estimated, and gas export from Heimdal will now increase by 35 percent.
"The processing of the Skirne gas is a welcome addition to activities on Heimdal, and strengthens the platform's position as a North Sea gas centre," says senior Vice President Øystein Michelsen in Hydro.
Gas export from Heimdal increases to 15 million cubic metres per day with the processing of Skirne gas.
When the production from the field stabilizes at plateau level, the field will produce around four million cubic metres natural gas per day. This is just under one third of production capacity on Heimdal.
Skirne was developed as a satellite field with two well templates on the seabed. The templates are each linked to a well which produces from the Skirne and Byggve reservoirs. These are situated 24 and 16 kilometres east of Heimdal respectively.
Faster and cheaper
For Hydro, the modification of the Heimdal platform is one of several successful recent developments.
Work has been carried out on Heimdal since March 2003. The first phase of the modification work on Heimdal was completed at the end of February, one month earlier than planned.
In the next phase, a gas compression module will be installed on the platform. Construction of the module has just started at Reinertsen AS in Orkanger, and it will be installed during the course of 2005.
So far the modification has cost around NOK 400 million. This means that the project has stayed within the budget frame for this part of the development.
Read more:
| Total's press release |
Licensees - Skirne-field:
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Licensees - Heimdal gas center:
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