J-structure in operation at Oseberg South

The J-structure at the Oseberg South field in the North Sea was put into operation last week. Production will contribute to better utilization of the infrastructure on this field.

Operation on the J-structure started at 23:15 CET on Wednesday, and oil production began on Thursday.

The J-structure has been built as a satellite of the Oseberg South platform and consists of a well template on the sea bed seven kilometres south west of the platform.

The production stream amounting to about 25,000 barrels of oil per day will be transported in an eight-inch pipeline to the processing facility on the Oseberg South platform. An equivalent pipeline will be used for injection of water into the reservoir.

"We should actually have started production from the J-structure last October, but due to the rig lockout and problems with the production well J-12 we have been seriously delayed," says project manager Norodd Hjelmeland.

"Now now production has finally begun. We're using production well number two, J-14, to begin production. Plataeu-production of about 25,000 barrels per day will be reached when both wells come into production," says Hjelmeland.

The drilling rig "Bideford Dolphin" will continue its drilling programme until the winter. In this period the rig will drill an exploration well in the J-centre, a branch on J-12 and two wells for water injection.

"If the exploration well results in a commercial find, it can be converted to a production well and be connected to the template on J-structure. The template has six well connections, and we are currently only using four, so we can still connect new resources nearby," says Hjelmeland.

Field manager Tom Gustavsen at Oseberg South is glad that production from the J-structure has begun.

"We have been waiting a long time for the startup, due to the delays with the lockout and the problems with well J-12. The J-structure production will mean that the process facility on Oseberg South will be far better utilized," says Gustavsen.

Facts: Location: Seven km southwest of the Oseberg South platform Investments: 1,6 billion NOK Wells: Two production wells and two water injection wells Recoverable reserves: 24 million barrels of oil and 500 million cubic metres of natural gas Production: Approx 25,000 barrels per day Pipelines: Two eight-inch pipelines have been laid along the seven kilometres from Oseberg South to the well template. One pipeline transports the well stream from the J-structure, while the other injects water from Oseberg South to the J-structure.

Partners at Oseberg South:
Hydro (operator)	34,00%
Petoro	33,60%
Statoil	15,30%
Total	10,00%
ExxonMobil	4,70%
ConocoPhillips	2,40%