The Norwegian Marine Industry Authority has recently issued two consecutive work permits, approving Aker BP to start drilling and completion operations in two mature old oil fields in the North Sea area of the Norwegian continental shelf, using two main drilling platforms under Noble Corporation and Odfjell Drilling. This action marks the second development process of Norway's old oil and gas producing areas in the North Sea, which is entering the substantive landing stage.

Two platforms are divided into two major operating areas, north and south

The first operation approved this time is located in the Valhall oilfield in the southern part of the North Sea. The Noble Interceptor self elevating drilling platform, built in 2014, will be used as a living and accommodation facility to support the offshore completion operation of the PWP project. The Valhall oilfield was discovered in 1975 and officially put into operation in 1982. After multiple rounds of development and expansion, it has completed multiple generations of facility iterations. The active PH platform is directly connected to the onshore power grid for power supply, making it a typical mature oilfield with a development history of over 40 years on the Norwegian continental shelf. Another approved operation is located in the Ø st Frigg oilfield in the central North Sea. The Deepsea Nordkapp semi submersible drilling platform, built in 2019, will be used to complete the drilling and completion of four production wells for the Yggdrasil area development project, covering production license blocks 873 and 442.

The restart of old oil fields releases signals for regional development

The Ø st Frigg oil field was discovered in 1973, put into operation in 1988, and ceased production in 1997. The original two subsea wellhead templates were dismantled in 2001. This is the first time that the oil field has resumed development as part of the Hugin development project in the Yggdrasil area after nearly 30 years of shutdown.

Unlike conventional exploration of new blocks, both operations in this project are aimed at mature old oil fields that have been developed for decades. There is no redundant investment in the construction of large-scale independent platforms, and they directly rely on the existing regional development pipeline network and surrounding facility system to promote loop back transformation, with lower development investment and shorter production cycle. This also represents that the Norwegian oil and gas industry is shifting from large-scale exploration of new blocks to a refined development stage of tapping into existing oil fields, while ensuring stable local oil and gas production and controlling the carbon emission intensity of the development process as much as possible. Keywords: oil and gas production hub, petrochemical industry

As the most important oil and gas production hub in Europe, the secondary development of existing oil fields in the North Sea region of the Norwegian continental shelf is providing new support for stable energy supply throughout Northwest Europe. The implementation and promotion of Aker BP's two projects this time will also provide a set of practical samples that can be directly referenced for the extended development of the world's old offshore oil and gas production areas.Editor/Cheng Liting