OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2012. Statoil and its partner Petoro have decided to further develop Gullfaks South in the North Sea by investing NOK 8.5 billion in two new subsea templates and six extra wells. This will boost recovery by 65 million barrels of oil equivalent, reported the press-centre of Statoil. 

Increasing recovery from Gullfaks South will be implemented as part of Statoil's fast-track developments.

"By using the fast-track concept, with standardised solutions and consistent teams in one project, we will improve recovery in an effective manner," says Halfdan Knudsen, vice president for fast-track projects on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Production in parts of Gullfaks South was shut down in 2008 to maintain an acceptable pressure level in the reservoir for future drilling operations.

Existing wells are being reopened in the course of 2012. And new wells will also be drilled from existing seabed templates on Gullfaks South.

Recovery will be increased further with the fast-track concept and production start-up is planned from 2014.

"We're now making a substantial investment in a mature field," says Jannicke Nilsen, senior vice president for the operations North Sea west cluster.

"This is a major commitment to increasing recovery and it is in line with Statoil's continuous focus on increased recovery in existing fields on the NCS."

This will be the second fast-track development to be tied back to Gullfaks for processing and it exploits spare capacity on one of the big producers on the NCS (Visund South was resolved in 2011).

Two available well slots will provide flexibility and further reserves could be realised. The project will help to utilise spare processing capacity and extend the lifetime of Gullfaks A beyond 2030.