Norway's Equinor has boosted production from its aging Snorre oil facility, bringing on stream a project that should extend production to 2040, with 200 million extra barrels, it said Dec. 14.
In a statement, the state-controlled company said the Snorre expansion project, costing NOK19.5 billion ($2.2 billion) had come on stream at the weekend, ahead of schedule as startup had been expected in the first quarter of 2021.
Oil production from Snorre averaged around 70,000 b/d in January-September, with the crude sent to the Gullfaks field for loading onto shuttle tankers.
On stream since 1992, the field was originally expected to cease producing around 2011-14, but that has now been extended and it is expected to produce some 2 billion barrels of oil in total, meaning the recovery rate has been raised to 51% from 46%, Equinor said.
Around a third of the power supply needed to operate both Snorre and Gullfaks will in time come from the new Hywind Tampen wind project due to start up in Q2 2022, Equinor said.
The expansion will eventually involve drilling 24 wells, clustered around six subsea templates.
Equinor said the project had come on stream despite operational problems associated with the coronavirus, including "challenges associated with deliveries, closed borders and plants, in addition to limited workforce on the platform due to infection control measures."
The project "represents good resource management," Equinor's executive vice president for the Norwegian upstream, Sigve Nylund, said. "The new volumes brought to Snorre A [platform] help ensure activity offshore and onshore, creating substantial value for Norwegian society."
Equinor holds a 33% stake in Snorre alongside state holding company Petoro on 30%, while Var Energi, majority owned by Italy's Eni, has a 19% stake, Japan's Idemitsu holds 10% and Germany's Wintershall Dea 9%.
