The plans for development and operation (PDO) of Njord and Bauge in the Norwegian Sea have now been approved by the authorities, operator Statoil said June 20. The plan for developing the now-producing Njord field was first submitted 20 years ago; this is a unique upgrade, the platform being towed to shore for the work.

The Njord A platform and the Njord Bravo floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO) will be upgraded to recover the remaining resources in the Njord and Hyme fields, whereas Bauge is a new field development to be tied in to the Njord A platform.

“We are pleased that the authorities have now approved the plans for Njord and Bauge, two important fields on the Norwegian continental shelf. The investments, totalling Nkr 20bn ($2.3bn), will trigger high activities and spin-offs for the Norwegian society and Norwegian supply industry,” said Statoil's head of project development Torger Rod.

The remaining resources on the Njord and Hyme field total 175mn barrels of oil equivalent, similar to the reserves produced from the Njord field since first oil in in 1997. In addition, 73mn barrels of oil equivalent will be produced from Bauge. The Bauge field development concept includes one subsea template, two oil producers and one water injection well.

Kvaerner at Stord has been awarded the contract for upgrading the platform and work facilitating the tie-in of Bauge and potential future third-party tie-ins.

“Njord remaining on stream until  2040 is important for our specialist communities in Kristiansund and Stjørdal, as well as the mid-Norway supply industry. An upgraded field centre and new infrastructure at Njord also allows for the development of other fields in the area,” Statoil said. Next year the Njord partners will award the contract for upgrading the Njord Bravo FSO. First oil is scheduled for the end of 2020.

May gas down on April

Separately the offshore regulator, the Norwegian petroleum directorate, said that May gas production was 9.3bn m³, which is a decrease of 1.2bn m³ from the previous month. “The decline in gas sales is as expected, caused by natural fluctuations in the market,” it said. Although down on the month, and down also on May 2016, it was above the December 2016 forecast amount – as it has been each month this year so far. January-April also saw a year-on-year increase, or no significant change, in gas production.

William Powell