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Our Arctic Neighbors: Statoil working deepwater Arctic gas field
Norway’s Statoil (formerly StatoilHydro) is working on a development solution for the Luva gas field in the Norwegian Sea, the company said in a release Oct. 29. Luva is located at a depth of 4,264 feet, 186 miles from land. Following the completion of a feasibility study, Statoil said it will spend almost two years considering possible approaches to bringing the discovery on stream.
“This could be the first development in the Voring area of the Norwegian Sea, and the first off Norway in such deep water,” said Stale Tungesvik, Statoil’s head of reserves and business development. Luva was discovered in 1997, and together with Haklang and Snefrid South, is estimated to contain recoverable gas reserves of 1.412 trillion to 2.118 trillion standard cubic feet.
Producing these reserves will be demanding, Tungesvik acknowledged. “They lie far from land, away from existing infrastructure and in very deep water,” he said. “With weather conditions also demanding, further technology development will be needed.”
Discoveries could be linked Several nearby discoveries could be linked to a possible development, including Snefrid and Haklang in the same license and Asterix 46 miles to the west. All these finds are located at about the same depth, and their development will depend on an integrated solution for gas processing and export, according to Statoil.
“We’re now going to pursue a creative phase which will end up with three or four different development concepts which could form the basis for a possible Luva project,” Tungesvik said. The work will include the evaluation of various solutions for development, transport and power supply.
Luva is 87 miles from the nearest installation, the Norne oil and gas field, and 310 miles from the Nyhamna pipeline terminal — the nearest gas infrastructure with spare capacity. The gas at Luva is dry and, therefore, has a low carbon content, according to Statoil.
Statoil is the operator of the project, with a 75 percent interest; ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway has a 15 percent interest; and ConocoPhillips 10 percent.
StatoilHydro has changed its name to Statoil and adopted a new visual identity, the company said in a release Nov. 2. Statoil’s new symbol is a guiding star in the Nordic heavens. “The star represents the group’s history, pioneering spirit and ambition to be a leader in efforts to find better solutions for meeting growing energy requirements in a responsible way,” the company said.
—Sarah Hurst
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