Hydro has awarded FMC Kongsberg Subsea AS a contract to supply a subsea well template and well heads for a new seafloor development on the Troll field. "We now have the opportunity to drill new wells in an area of the Troll field that gives us 20 million barrels of new oil reserves," says Ivar Aasheim, head of Hydro's Troll Mature Assets business unit.
The contract, awarded by Hydro on behalf of its partners in the Troll license, has a value of NOK 390 million and comprises five subsea trees, one six-slot manifold with protection structures and related control systems. The systems will be engineered and manufactured at FMC's facilities in Kongsberg, Norway, and Dunfermline, Scotland. Deliveries are scheduled for second quarter 2009.
Hydro is the operator of Troll Oil and has drilled 113 production wells into the Troll field. The experience has contributed to extensive knowledge about the reservoir and its production characteristics. New data from the wells show that the recovery rate from the northwestern part of the field can be increased by drilling new production wells.
The new subsea construction effort, called Troll O2, allows the drilling of new wells with several production extensions. A well slot is also being included to accommodate the drilling of production wells into the Brent formation, where oil was proven in 2005.
The new well template will be tied into the Troll C production platform in the North Sea. It is anticipated that the new wells, which can be drilled from the template, will increase the area’s oil reserves by more than 20 million barrels.
"We again show how with improved knowledge and a long-term perspective on developing Troll’s oil resources that we have a solid foundation for increased value creation – to the delight of the owners and society," says Aasheim.
As operator of Troll Oil, Hydro has been responsible for long-term development in the field’s thin oil zones. The field’s commercial oil reserves have increased from zero in 1986 to some 1,400 million barrels. Hydro is working on a new long-term plan for increased oil recovery from Troll. The goal is to boost reserves by 30 percent, to more than 2 billion barrels of oil.
Troll Oil includes blocks 31/2, 31/3 and 31/5 and is some 80 kilometers northwest of Bergen. The field is developed with two production platforms, Troll B and Troll C, and subsea production systems. Three drilling rigs will drill the production wells from the subsea well templates.
License holders in Troll Oil
- Hydro (operator) - 9.78 percent
- Statoil - 20.81 percent
- Petoro - 56.00 percent
- Shell - 8.10 percent
- Total - 3.69 percent
- ConocoPhillips - 1.62 percent