An oil field on the Norwegian continental shelf reached its 1 billionth barrel and has at least 8 years left for production, Statoil announced on December 20, 2016.
The milestone figure was reached after more than 20 years in production. Troll B came on stream on September 19, 1995.
Troll B and C combined have been the largest oil producer on the Norwegian continental shelf for the last 3 years.
Oil on the Troll field is found in thin oil columns and efficient recovery has required innovative solutions and technology.
The result proves that the effort pays off: In fact, Troll B has soon produced three times more than the expected volume stated in the plan for development and operation (PDO).
Revenues for the common good
When Troll B came on stream in 1995, 9 oil wells and 1 gas injector had been pre-drilled.
For more than 21 years the platform has delivered high oil volumes with excellent regularity.
The average daily oil production has been 20,600 cubic metres. In 2016 the average will be 12,000 cubic metres per day, an impressive rate for a 21-year-old oil lady.
Making good money: Based on the average oil price for the years in production, one billion barrels of oil from Troll B has given a revenue of NOK 268 billion.
Around 200 of these billions have been channelled back to the Norwegian state through direct ownership and taxes – almost 75%.
«The combined oil and gas produced from the Troll field so far represent values worth NOK 1300 billion. After 20 years of production Troll will probably be the highest oil producing field on the NCS for the fourth year in a row. Troll B is delivering high regularity and good HSE results, and this is the result of dedicated employees doing a fantastic job every day, both offshore and onshore,» says Lars Høier, vice president of Troll operations.
Still more wells
During the past years Troll B has had a flat production profile thanks to an efficient and active drilling programme as well as technology development and implementation.
We still forecast another 8-10 years of oil production on the platform.
In 2015 a new record was set when a distance of 145,000 metres were drilled in the reservoir.
The budget aims for start-up of 15 new wells in 2016.
The Troll field is divided into 3 main areas: 1) Troll East contains two thirds of the gas reserves on Troll, in addition to hosting the Troll A and Troll-Oseberg gas injection project (TOGI).
2) Troll Oil Gas Province contains one third of the Troll gas reserves as well as a 13-metre thin oil layer.
3) Troll Oil Province mainly contains oil.
The Troll Oil development was originally based on production from the oil province with potential to cover future production from the gas province.
Troll B is currently producing oil from the whole oil province and parts of Troll Oil Gas Province.
Troll B is located east of the oil province, around 100 kilometres west of Bergen and around 50 kilometres from the Oseberg field centre.
The distance between Troll A and Troll B is approximately 20 kilometres.
