Statoil reported on August 9, 2016, that the company and its partners have submitted the Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) and the Field Development Plan (FDP) for the Utgard gas and condensate discovery, in the North Sea, to the relevant authorities in Norway and the UK.
The Norwegian operator expects the development to cost a relatively modest Nkr3.5 bln ($412 mln), as Utgard is 21 km from the mature Sleipner field in the North Sea and will be remote-controlled from Sleipner A.
Utgard recoverable reserves are some 56.4 mln bbls of oil equivalent. Wells are scheduled to come on stream at the end of 2019, and to produce some 44,000 barrels oil equivalent/day at plateau.
The field straddles the UK-Norway median line although most reserves are on the Norwegian side. Statoil is Utgard’s operator with 62% partnered by Polish refiner Lotos 28% and Total 10% on the Norwegian side, while on the UK side Statoil is operator with 100%.
The accompanying Field Development Plan (FPD) includes two wells, with one drilling target on each side of the median line. All installations and infrastructure are in the Norwegian sector, with the UK well to be drilled from the subsea template on the Norwegian shelf.
Utgard gas and condensate will be piped through a new pipeline to the Sleipner field for processing and further transportation to the market, said Statoil. Utgard gas has a high CO2 content and will benefit from carbon cleaning and storage at Sleipner. After processing, Utgard liquids will be exported to Karsto and its dry gas piped into the Gassled subsea system.
Utgard provides new production which will be essential to further developing the Sleipner area, supporting the company’s ambitious targets for future activity and value creation, said Statoil’s senior vice president for project development Torger Rod.
Utgard, discovered in 1982 and formerly known as Alfa Sentral, has been considered for development on several occasions in the past, but never made the cut. Statoil, which consolidated its holding in the field this June, by acquiring JX Nippon's 45% share in the UK portion field, says reuse of existing infrastructure was essential to bringing the field to development.
