Statoil Unveils Unmanned Offshore Project to Reduce Costs

Norway’s Statoil has chosen an unmanned wellhead platform as the concept for the Oseberg Future development phase I project in the North Sea, following similar projects launched by other companies on the Danish and Dutch continental shelf. 

The project shows how industry players are trying to reduce costs, cutting down on maintenance costs during the operation phases.  

The Norwegian company said it expects to take its investment decision next winter. 

“The alternative was to place the wells on the seabed, but the costs of subsea wells have been tripled during the last decade. We have therefore chosen a jacket-based unmanned wellhead platform that will reduce costs by several hundred million NOK,” Anders Opedal, senior vice president of projects in Statoil, commented in a note. 

The company reiterated its intention to cooperate with the industry to come up with smart solutions, both above and below water. 

‘Unmanned wellhead platforms without facilities, helicopter deck and lifeboats represent a new concept in Norway, but they have been used for some time internationally, for example on the Danish and Dutch continental shelves’ explains the communiqué.