Norway gives Ormen Lange 3 the greenlight: press
Shell's third-phase expansion plan for Ormen Lange gas field has been approved for the Norwegian government, the country's oil and energy ministry said on July 8.
The expansion programme is expected to boost gas production by up to 40bn m3 over the field's life, with the launch due in 2025. Gas recovery rates should increase from 75% to 85% following the upgrades.
"This project helps to maintain the gas supply from Norway to our friends in Europe from the middle of this decade," said Norway's oil and energy ministry Terje Aasland.
Oslo has also cleared the development of ConoccoPhillips-operated gas deposit Tommeliten A and the AkerBP-operated Frosk oil discovery. Both licences are situated in the Norwegian North Sea, though Tommeliten A's reservoirs actually run into the UK's waters.
Tommeliten A is due on stream in 2024 and will target estimated recoverable reserves of around 21mn m3 of oil equivalents, of which roughly 75% is gas. Frosk contains an estimated 1.5mn m3 of oil equivalent, most of which is oil, and will launch in 2023.