In contrast to the original estimate of about NOK3.5bn ($440m), Statoil and its partners have brought down their investment in the Byrding project to NOK1bn ($130m).
Located to the north of the Troll natural gas and oil field in the North Sea, Byrding has estimated recoverable volumes of 11 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Statoil operations west cluster senior vice president Gunnar Nakken said: “Good utilisation of existing infrastructure has resulted in a cost-effective development that will add profitable resources to the Troll field.”
In October last year, Statoil grew its stake in the Byrding field by 25% following the exit of Wintershall Norge. With a current stake of 70%, Statoil is the operator of the Byrding field with Engie E&P Norge and Idemitsu Petroleum Norge holding stakes of 15% each.
Development of the Byrding field would involve drilling of a two-branch multilateral well from the existing Fram H-Nord subsea template. Fram H-Nord, in turn will facilitate the oil and gas flow into the Statoil-operated Troll C field.
The multilateral well to be drilled is about 7km long and is divided into a couple of branches after a few kilometers.
According to Statoil, the oil from the Byrding field after getting processed on Troll C will be transported in existing pipelines to Mongstad. On the other hand, the gas sourced from Byrding will be routed via Troll A to the Gassco-operated Kollsnes gas processing plant near Bergen.
Image: Map illustrating locations of the Byrding and Troll C fields. Photo: courtesy of Statoil ASA.
