Skogul oil field : Aker BP set to begin production from Norwegian oil field

Aker BP and PGNiG have secured consent from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) to begin production at the Skogul oil field in production licence 460 in the North Sea.

The offshore Norwegian field has been developed with a subsea template tied-in to the Alvheim FPSO through the Vilje field. Discovered in 2010 following the drilling of the 25/1-11 exploration well, Skogul holds estimated recoverable resources of 1.5 million standard cubic metres of oil (9.4 million bbls).  Skogul is considered to be among the smallest fields on the Norwegian shelf.

Aker BP, which is the operator of the Skogul oil field, intends to begin production next month in line with the plan for development and operation (PDO), which was approved in early 2018.

At the time of submitting the PDO, the development costs for the Skogul oil project were estimated at about NOK 1.5 billion ($160.2 million).

Arvid Østhus – Norwegian Petroleum Directorate assistant director for development and operations in the North Sea said: “Skogul contributes to good resource exploitation in the Alvheim area. The project serves as an example that even small fields can create value for the licensees and the Norwegian society.”

Tie-back of the Skogul oil field to the Alvheim FPSO. Photo courtesy of Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

Formerly called Storklakken, the Skogul oil field is located nearly 30km north-east of the Alvheim field, which is operated by Aker BP. The Norwegian oil and gas company is also the operator of the Skogul field with 65%, while the remaining 35% stake is held by PGNiG Upstream Norway.

According to Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the Alvheim field licensees were given its IOR award in 2018 for use of newly developed technology, sharing of data, and the ability to see and develop a larger area as a single unit. An exploration drilling campaign near the Alvheim field led to new discoveries, of which, many have been developed.

Discoveries like the Skogul oil field, which have been made outside the field area, have also been tied-in to the Alvheim FPSO. Owing to this, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said that the reserves in the Alvheim area have more than doubled compared to the estimates in the field’s PDO, which was approved in 2004. The Alvheim field has been in production since 2008.