Snefrid Nord gas field in Norwegian Sea brought on stream by Equinor

The Snefrid Nord gas field located in the Norwegian Sea has been brought into production by Equinor and its partners through a subsea tieback to the Aasta Hansteen gas field.

According to Equinor, the Snefrid Nord field is the first discovery to be developed as a tie back to the Aasta Hansteen field, which entered into production last December. The Norwegian oil and gas company and its partners invested NOK 1.2 billion ($130 million) to develop the offshore gas field in Norway with an objective to tap into an estimated 4.4 billion standard cubic metres of gas and some condensate.

Through a stake of 51%, Equinor Energy is the operator of Snefrid Nord and is partnered by Wintershall Dea (24%), OMV (15%), and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (10%).

Discovered in 2017, the Snefrid Nord gas field was approved for development by the partners in July 2017. The offshore gas field, which was originally slated to begin production in late 2019, is expected to extend plateau production from the Equnor-operated Aasta Hansteen gas field by almost 12 months.

Equinor expects the Snefrid Nord field to produce four million cubic metres of gas per day on plateau.

Snefrid Nord field development comprises a production well drilled by the Transocean Spitsbergen rig in a subsea template, which is tied back using a pipeline and an umbilical to the Aasta Hansteen gas field. Installed at a water depth of 1,309m, the subsea template along with the suction anchor was supplied by Aker Solutions.

The subsea template of the Snefrid Nord gas field was installed by Subsea 7 while Momek carried out the pipeline end termination (PLET) work.

Suction anchor and template for the Snefrid Nord gas field supplied by Aker Solutions in Sandnessjøen passing Helgelandsbroen. Photo courtesy of Rolf Morten Nes/ Equinor ASA.

Geir Tungesvik – senior vice president for project development at Equinor said that the Snefrid Nord gas field has been brought into production without any serious injuries, ahead of schedule and within the estimated project cost.

He added: “To a large extent the development has been performed in synergy with Aasta Hansteen. As the two projects have used several of the same suppliers, we have been able to combine campaigns and follow-up teams in Equinor and reuse technical solutions.”.

The Aasta Hansteen gas field along with the Polarled pipeline and the Snefrid Nord field have created a new region in the Norwegian Sea for export of gas to Europe, said the Norwegian oil and gas giant.

Siri Espedal Kindem – senior vice president for operations north at Equinor said: “There are several interesting prospects and discoveries around us. The new infrastructure makes it possible to develop them and more attractive to explore around the platform and along the pipeline. There is high exploration activity and several discoveries already in the area.”