The Gullfaks partners (Equinor, Petoro and OMV) have decided to drill seven new wells with an investment of NOK 2.3bn and thereby improve oil recovery by 17 million barrels with good profitability.
On behalf of the licence partners, Equinor’s executive vice president for Development and Production Norway, Arne Sigve Nylund, presented an amended plan for development and operation to the minister of petroleum and energy, Kjell-Børge Freiberg, at the Sandefjord Conference.
The wells will be drilled in the Shetland Group, a carbonate reservoir that lies above the main reservoir at the North Sea Gullfaks field.
Drilling on Gullfaks is challenging due to the carbonate reservoir. A well test in 2012 proved, however, that this reservoir had oil production potential. The Gullfaks partners have therefore invested more than NOK 1bn in production wells in this formation since 2013, which have so far produced more than six million barrels of oil from Shetland/Lista phase 1.
As this reservoir could potentially produce more oil by use of water injection, the authorities requested the Gullfaks partners to submit an amended PDO in 2019.
The Gullfaks partners are now ready to recover even more resources by use of water injection and new production wells in the Shetland/Lista phase 2 development. A total of seven horizontal wells is planned to be drilled by use of existing drilling facilities on Gullfaks.
