Plans for development and operation (PDO) submitted by Statoil for two North Sea projects have been approved by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy today, 11 February.
One plan covers the Skinfaks satellite close to Gullfaks, and the other modifies the original PDO for the nearby Rimfaks satellite. Both fields will be tied back to Gullfaks C.
“Developing Skinfaks and Rimfaks helps to exploit the infrastructure in our area,” says Lars Christian Bacher, operations vice president for Gullfaks.
“It provides good resource utilisation for a limited investment. And tail production on Gullfaks will also be strengthened.”
Total investment in the two fields is put at NOK 3.4 billion, with recoverable reserves estimated at about 70 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Transocean was awarded a contract in January to drill production wells on the two fields, while the subsea installations were ordered from FMC Kongsberg Subsea last December. The drilling programme is to start this autumn.
Plans call for production from the two satellites to begin in November 2006.
Licensees in the development are operator Statoil, with 61 per cent, Petoro with 30 per cent and Norsk Hydro with nine per cent.