Wintershall Dea Drills First Dvalin Wells

Wintershall Dea has begun drilling four production wells on the Dvalin gas field in the Norwegian Sea, the German independent said August 12, as it gets the field ready for the start of production in 2020.

Drilling the wells from the Transocean Arctic rig is expected to last a year and follows a summer of activity around the Wintershall Dea-operated Dvalin development. Pipelines and the manifold have already been installed at 400 metres water depth.

In August, a 3,500-metric ton processing module was completed and lifted on to the nearby Heidrun platform in preparation for receiving gas from the Dvalin field. The field is 259 km north of Kristiansund in mid Norway.

Dvalin is being developed as a subsea field tied back to Heidrun, which lies some 15 km to the northwest. The four wells will be drilled to a depth of around 4,500 metres.

“Dvalin fits neatly into our strategy of supplying gas to the European market through fields and pipelines while ensuring we remain one of the most important gas producers on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It further demonstrates our capabilities as an efficient and capable operator,” said Wintershall Dea.

From Heidrun, gas will be sent to the Polarled gas transportation system through a 7.5-km pipeline, before it is processed at the Nyhamna onshore gas terminal, as is gas from Ormen Lange, among other fields. Finally, the gas will be transported via Gassled to the market.