Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen (GRD) was scheduled for start-up on Christmas Eve this year, but the project has worked faster and now the field is on stream – at lower costs than planned.

The project delivered is more than NOK 1 billion below the estimate of the plan for development and operation (PDO), reducing costs from NOK 4.8 billion to around NOK 3.7 billion.

"I am pleased to see that the project starts up four months ahead of plan, demonstrating good and efficient project management," says Torger Rød, senior vice president for project development in Statoil.

Image courtesy: Statoil

Over time we have focused on reducing costs and raising the profitability of our projects to ensure long-term activity and value creation on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Based on a smart concept using standard solutions and existing infrastructure, Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen strongly proves that we are on the right track to succeed on this work," continues Rød.

Recoverable reserves are approximately 80 million barrels of oil equivalent, mostly gas. The licensees are Statoil (operator) (51%), Petoro (30%) and OMV (19%).

"The volumes from Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen help us reach our ambition of maintaining production and a high activity level on the NCS beyond 2030. We have a well-developed infrastructure and we will keep realizing opportunities in the North Sea," says Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.

"This development leads to more production, improved value creation and higher activity level on Gullfaks, and also throughout the value chain related to the field," continues Nylund.

The Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen development consists of a standard subsea template with two simple gas production wells, and possibilities for tie-in of two more wells. The well stream is connected to the existing pipeline leading to the Gullfaks A platform.

Gas and condensate are transported in existing pipelines to the processing plant at Kårstø north of Stavanger for processing, and from there the gas is exported to markets on the European continent. Gullfaks Rimfaksdalen is one of Statoil’s fast-track projects, aiming to realize resources quickly and inexpensively, for example by using existing infrastructure while it is still available.

Facts

Location: In the North Sea, around 5-15 kilometers southwest of the

Gullfaks A platform

Volumes: around 80 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) (gas and condensate)

Depths: water depth of around 135 meters, 3200 meters below the seabed

The Gullfaks field is operated from Statoil’s office at Sandsli in Bergen