Valhall PWP-Fenris is a joint development project located in the Norwegian sector of North Sea. The project involves the redevelopment of the Valhall field with the addition of a new centrally located platform, and the development of Fenris field (formerly King Lear).
Aker BP operates both the assets- Valhall and Fenris- with 90% and 77.8% interests respectively. Pandion holds the remaining 10% stake in Valhall, while Polish oil and gas company PGNiG owns 22.2% in Fenris.
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The Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for the project was submitted to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy by Aker BP, on behalf of the joint venture partners, in December 2022.
In June 2023, the PDO was approved by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting).
The development project entails an estimated total investment of $6.6bn (nominal). This is equivalent to around NOK50bn gross in real terms.
In September 2023, Aker BP announced the official steel cut for Valhall PWP-Fenris, marking the start of construction.
Production from Valhall PWP and Fenris are expected to begin in the second and third quarters of 2027 respectively.
Valhall PWP-Fenris Location Details
The Valhall PWP-Fenris Joint Development Project is located in the southern part of the North Sea.
The Valhall oil field is located in PL 006B and 033B licences (unitised into the Valhall Unit) in Blocks 2/8 and 2/11). The water depth in the region is around 70m.
The Fenris Unit is situated in PL146, 146B, 333, and 1088, at a water depth of 70m, around 50km away from the Valhall field.
Discovery and Reserves
The Valhall oil field was discovered in 1975 and production commenced in 1982. The reservoir of the field is situated at 2,400m depth.
In 1989, the well 2/4-14 made the Fenris gas condensate discovery in the Farsund Formation. The discovery was then appraised by wells 2/4-18, 2/4-21, 2/4-21 A and 2/4-23 S.
Subsequently, well 2/4-23 S discovered the Ula Formation.
The Fenris field features two Upper Jurassic reservoirs lying at a depth of around 5,000m.
The Valhall PWP-Fenris Joint Development Project’s total recoverable reserves are estimated to be 230 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) gross. This includes 160 mmboe at Fenris and 70 mmboe at Valhall.
The project also extends the life of Valhall beyond 2028 with existing Valhall reserves estimated to be 135-140 mmboe gross.
Valhall PWP-Fenris Joint Development Project Details
The Valhall PWP-Fenris Joint Development Project consists of a new centrally located Production Wellhead Platform (PWP).
The platform will be linked to the Valhall field centre by a bridge with 24 well slots and an unstaffed installation with eight slots at Fenris.
The Fenris development will be tied back 50km to PWP via subsea pipelines.
According to the development plan, the project will include 19 wells, of which 15 will be at Valhall PWP and four at Fenris.
The development will use existing power of Valhall from shore system. This will minimise emissions, estimated at less than 1kg CO2/boe.
Additionally, Valhall PWP-Fenris will involve modernisation of Valhall to support continued operation after 2028 when components of the current infrastructure will be phased out. This will ensure Valhall to remain in production from 2029 onwards.
Production from Fenris will boost Valhall’s gas processing capacity and will also significantly increase gas exports from Valhall through the existing Norpipe pipeline to Europe.
The project will be built to accommodate potential future developments. The total resource potential may jump to around 500mmboe, via lifetime extension, drilling of new wells, and identified future upsides.
Contractors Involved
In the execution stage, the Valhall PWP-Fenris project will be delivered by Aker BP’s alliance model.
ABB and Aker Solutions will be responsible for the PWP and Fenris topside and jacket fabrication, which will be carried out through the Fixed Facilities Alliance.
In August 2022, Aker Solutions and Aker BP awarded a letter of intent (LoI) to Rosenberg Worley to build two modules for the new central platform.
Overall, Valhall PWP will comprise three large modules weighing more than 15,000 tonnes. Aker Solutions will build the process module, while Rosenberg Worley will deliver the wellbay module and the utility module.
The platform will be assembled on Stord.
In December 2022, SIF Group secured the contract to produce jacket leg sections and piles. The company’s Roermond facilities will manufacture the leg sections and then the components will be transported to Verdal, Norway, for further processing into complete jackets.
Overall, SIF will build 52 leg sections and 48 piles with a combined weight of approximately 20,000 tonnes.
Subsea 7 Norway and Aker Solutions will be in charge of Subsea Umbilical Riser Flowlines (SURF) and Subsea Production Systems (SPS), respectively, via the Subsea Alliance.
Aker Solutions will carry out modifications at Valhall field centre. This will be executed through the Modifications Alliance.
In March 2023, ABL Group won the contract to provide marine warranty survey (MWS) services for the Valhall PWP-Fenris development.
ABL Group started execution of the project in January 2023, with transportation and installation operations planned to commence in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
LIBERTY Pipes Hartlepool won a contract to produce a combined 16.6km-long Longitudinally Submerged Arc Welded (LSAW) pipe for the project and supply them to Subsea7’s fabrication facility at Wester, outside Wick, Scotland.
