Norway's May Oil Output Down, But Still Above Forecast
Norway's oil production fell in May from the previous month but still exceeded official forecasts by 0.9%, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Friday.The country's crude oil output fell by 2.1% month-on-month from April to 1.74 million barrels per day. The output year-on-year was up by 38.1%, thanks among other things to a ramp-up of Equinor's giant Johan Sverdrup oilfield.Daily natural gas output fell by 12.4% month-on-month, missing the official forecast by 8.4% and was down 15.4% from a year ago.Overall monthly gas output in April totaled 8.2 billion cubic meters.
Norway: OMV Gets NPD Nod for Hades Drilling
Austrian oil and gas firm OMV has been granted a permit for the drilling of the offshore well 6506/11-12 S in the Norwegian Sea.The company's Norwegian subsidiary OMV Norge will use the Island Innovator semi-submersible to drill the appraisal well at the prospect named Hades in the production license 644.OMV Norge is the operator with an ownership interest of 30 percent. The other licensees are Equinor (40 percent), DNO (20 percent), and Spirit Energy (10 percent).The well will be drilled about 4 kilometers west of the Morvin field.
Equinor's Helleneset Offshore Well Comes Up Dry
Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor has completed drilling of the offshore exploration well Helleneset, formally known as well 30/6-31 S, without finding hydrocarbons.The well was using the West Hercules semi-submersible drilling rig drilled about 7 kilometers southeast of the Oseberg C platform in the North Sea and 140 kilometers west of Bergen.The objective of the well was to prove petroleum in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (Intra Heather Formation sandstones).According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate…
Gassco Urges to Boost Barents Sea Gas Export
Norwegian state-owned natural gas pipelines operator Gassco published a study saying that it could be profitable to increase the transport capacity for gas.According to the study regarding the transport of gas from the southern Barents Sea several gas transport options from the Barents Sea, including a new pipeline, could prove profitable with today’s known resources.The report, "Assessment of gas transport alternatives in the southern Barents Sea", was presented to Minister of Petroleum…
Wintershall Dea Norge Wins Norway Permit
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Wintershall Dea Norge, a Norwegian unit of the German oil company Wintershall Dea, a drilling permit for well 66046604/5-2 S, which is located in the Norwegian Sea.According to NPD, the well will be drilled from the Scarabeo 8 drilling facility in after concluding the drilling of wildcat well 6604/6-1 for Wintershall Dea Norge AS in production license 894.The drilling program for well 6604/5-2 S relates to the drilling of an appraisal…
Norway's Oil Production Up in November
Norway's preliminary production figures for November 2019 rose in November from the previous month, beating official forecast by 13.2%, said the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).The average daily production stood at 2,016,000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate in November, which is an increase of 235,000 barrels per day compared to October.Total gas sales were 10.0 billion Sm3 (GSm3), which is an increase of 0.6 GSm3 from the previous month.Average daily liquids production in November was: 1 711 000 barrels of oil…
19 Fields in Production at Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sea area, which is twice the size of the North Sea, has 19 fields in production and numerous discoveries are being developed and around 350 exploration wells have been drilled over the past 40 years, said Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).In many ways, the Norwegian Sea is a miniature version of the Norwegian shelf. It consists of a deep seabed with surrounding continental shelves. "The geology in the Norwegian Sea is the reason why we believed early on that there might be oil and gas there," said NPD.“We want to generate maximum value from the resources.
Solvberg Appointed NPD Director General
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has announced the appointment of Ingrid Solvberg as Director for the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea, replacing Bente Nyland.According to a note from NPD, Sølvberg was appointed by the King in Council on 11 October. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has not yet set the date for the transition.The director general position in the NPD is posted as a fixed term engagement of six years, with the option of an additional six-year period. Bente…
Huge Opportunities in Norwegian Shelf
Even after more than 50 years, the Norwegian shelf still holds vast opportunities, says Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).According to NPD's 2019 resource report on fields and discoveries, more than half of the estimated remaining resources on the Norwegian shelf have already been discovered. 85 per cent are located in the fields and 15 per cent are located in discoveries that are being considered for development.There is also a potential that even more proven oil and gas could become profitable to produce by applying new technology and knowledge…
Exxon Discussing Norway Asses Sale with Var Energi
Oil major ExxonMobil said on Friday it had signed an exclusivity agreement with Var Energi for negotiations regarding a possible sale of Exxon's Norwegian upstream assets.An acquisition of Exxon's production assets in Norway would cement Var Energi's position as the second largest petroleum producer in Norway after Equinor, excluding state-owned Petoro, which manages government stakes in offshore licenses.Reuters reported on Sept. 5 that Exxon had agreed to sell its stakes in around 20 partner-operated fields…
Aker BP Discovers Oil at Frosk
Aker BP ASA, operator of production license 340, has finalized the results after drilling wildcat well 24/9-15 S (Froskelår Nordøst) and appraisal well 24/9-15 A.According to a press note from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), the wells, which are also pilot wells for test production, were drilled diagonally and horizontally, 2 and 3 kilometers northeast and north respectively, from the subsea template on the Bøyla field in the central part of the North Sea, and 225 kilometers…
Norway Oil Workers Threaten Strike
Around 200 Norwegian offshore oil and gas workers plan to go on strike on June 4 unless pay negotiations lead to a deal with employers, the Lederne labour union said on Wednesday.A strike would hit seven offshore fields and at least two of those would have to shut production, cutting output by a combined 102,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), industry group Norwegian Oil and Gas (NOG) told Reuters.While Neptune Energy's Gjøa and Okea's Draugen fields would shut in the initial phase of a strike, it was not yet clear whether the same would apply to Equinor's Kristin, Oseberg East and Gudru
NPD Report on High North Offshore
Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), Norwegian government agency responsible for the regulation of the petroleum resources on the Norwegian continental shelf, has presented a report on petroleum activity in the High North at the Barents Sea conference.The report titled "Petroleum activity in the High North" aims to place petroleum activity in the High North into a technological, historical and international context, showing how exploration and production of oil and gas take place…
Wellesley Hits Dry Well in North Sea
Norwegian oil and gas exploration company Wellesley Petroleum has drilled another dry well in the Norwegian section of the North Sea, 220 kilometers northwest of Stavanger.The explorer for oil and gas sees second dry well this year with latest probe using semisub Transocean Arctic. "Following last month’s announcement of a dry well in the production license 931, Wellesley has now failed to hit the target at the 25/1-13 wildcat in the production license 871," said a statement.The Norwegian…
Reserves at Snoehvit Gas Field Cut
Reserves at Equinor's Snoehvit field, the only producing natural gas field in the Barents Sea, were revised down by 8.5 percent, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Monday.Estimates for gross reserves were reduced by 17 million cubic meters (107 million barrels) of oil equivalent, on top of a reduction stemming from last year's production, the regulator said in its annual update of Norwegian petroleum resources."The reduction in gross reserves is due to the fact that the reserves in the Snoehvit field have been reduced due to an updating of the geological models," it said in a statementEqui
Equinor Drills Dry Well in the Barents Sea
Norwegian energy company Equinor has come up dry in the drilling of its first wildcat well in production licence 857 in the southeastern part of the Barents Sea.Equinor, as operator of production licence area Gjøkåsen, drilled 7132/2-1 targeting the Gjøkåsen Shallow prospect about 175 kilometers north of Vardø, using the Seadrill drilling rig West Hercules. The exploration well was the first drilled in production licence 857, which was awarded in the 23rd licensing round in 2016.According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD)…
Equinor Gets Extension for Norne FPSO
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted consent to Equinor for the extension of production on Norne FPSO with associated facilities for the Norne, Urd and Skuld fields in the Norwegian Sea.Lifetime extension granted for FPSO is for four years to March 2026, as the operator eyes additional 132m barrels from Norwegian Sea field.In its application for extension, operator Equinor has described an improved drainage strategy for the Norne field and the nearby Urd and Skuld fields.The Norne, Urd, Skuld, Alve and Marulk fields are tied in to the Norne ship.
Lundin Granted North Sea Drilling Permit
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Lundin Norway AS a drilling permit for a wildcat well in the North Sea.The NPD said on Tuesday that the wildcat well, designated 16/1-31 S, would be drilled from the Leiv Eiriksson drilling rig after concluding the drilling of wildcat well 7121/1-2 S in the Barents Sea.The well will be drilled about 4 kilometers northeast of the Edvard Grieg facility in the central North Sea using the Ocean Rig Leiv Eiriksson semisubmersible drilling…
Equinor Makes Gas and Condensate Discovery off Norway
Norwegian oil company Equinor announced Wednesday it has proven gas and condensate in the 6406/2-9 S exploration well at Ragnfrid North around 20 kilometers south of the Kristin platform in the Norwegian Sea. Recoverable resources are estimated at 6-25 million barrels of oil equivalent.“We are pleased to start the new year by announcing a new discovery. Exploring for resources close to existing infrastructure is a central part of Equinor’s strategy to further develop the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).
Norway Cuts 2019 Oil Output Forecast
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD)’s forecasts show that Norway's oil output in 2019 will be smaller than previously forecast and its lowest level in three decades, although it should rebound in the following years."After a minor decline in 2019, oil and gas production will increase from 2020 and up to 2023. Overall production will then approach the record year of 2004," a statement from NPD said.“The activity level on the Norwegian Shelf is high. Production forecasts for the next few years are promising and lay a foundation for substantial revenues…
