Norway approved plans on Friday for three gas field developments that will further increase production from the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the short to medium term.
The move comes days after Norway’s authorities approved applications from operators to boost production from several operating gas fields, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said on Monday, expecting record gas sales via pipelines to Europe this year. The ministry heeded applications from operators on the shelf and allowed higher gas production from the Troll, Gina Krog, Duva, Oseberg, Åsgard, and Mikkel fields. The Energy Ministry has also granted a production permit for the Nova gas field, which is expected to start up in the near future.
In the new field development plans approved on Friday, the ministry approved the development plan for the third phase of the Ormen Lange field, the second-largest gas field offshore Norway. The start of production at Ormen Lange Phase 3 is expected in 2025.
The project will increase the recovery rate from Ormen Lange from 75 percent to 85 percent. The Phase 3 development will help maintain gas supply from Norway to our friends in Europe from the middle of this decade, Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland said.
The Ormen Lange gas field in the Norwegian Sea is operated by Shell. Gas from the field processed at the Nyhamna onshore processing plant supplies around 20% of the UK’s gas, Shell says.
Apart from the Ormen Lange expansion, Norway’s Petroleum and Energy Ministry also approved today the development plan for the Tommeliten A gas and condensate discovery southwest of the Ekofisk field in the North Sea, and the plan for the Frosk petroleum discovery near the Bøyla field in the North Sea. Production from Frosk is set to begin in 2023 with an expected production horizon of 10 years, while production start-up at Tommeliten A is planned for 2024.
Norway’s decisions to allow higher gas production and approve more gas field developments come as its partners, the EU and the UK, scramble for gas supply ahead of the winter, which could be one of rationing for some industries and even households if Russian pipeline gas supply to Europe stops.
Source: Oilprice.com