Equinor Increases Ownership in Linnorm Discovery
Equinor will acquire Shell’s equity in and operatorship of the Linnorm discovery in the Norwegian Sea. Under this agreement, Equinor will acquire a 30% interest in the PL 255 covering the Linnorm discovery, conditional upon taking over the operatorship from A/S Norske Shell. The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of 2024.The Linnorm discovery in the Norwegian Sea was proven in 2005 and is the largest undeveloped gas discovery on the NCS. Linnorm is estimated to contain around 25-30 billion cubic meters (bcm)of recoverable gas resources.
Equinor Resumes Martin Linge Work, after Coronavirus-linked Halt
Norway's Equinor has restarted work at its Martin Linge development in the North Sea following a haltafter an offshore worker tested positive for coronavirus, the company said on Thursday."We are gradually stepping up activities again. We have cleaned and disinfected facilities, and believe that it's now safe to restart work," a company spokesman said.The company initially plans to bring back some 300 workers, down from more than 770 workers previously, due to government-imposed travel restrictions affecting its foreign workers, he added.
Electrifying Norway's Offshore Production
According to Rystad Energy, Norway has taken several steps to reduce its upstream emissions through electrifying offshore platforms, reducing flaring volumes, installing carbon capture and storage (CCS), and other energy efficiency measures.It said that power from shore to offshore platforms already started in 1996 when Troll East (A) came on-stream, with the Johan Sverdrup field as the latest addition in 2019.The latter infrastructure will also supply power to other developments located on the Utsira High and Sleipner area during the Johan Sverdrup Phase II development.In fact…
Cost Estimates at Equinor Norway Fields Goes Up
The cost of developing two major Norwegian oil and gas fields has increased due to the complexity of the projects, with the start of production delayed for one of them.The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy reports on the status of major projects that are currently undergoing development or have recently started operation.Thirteen of Equinor’s projects are on this list. Eight of the projects have reduced costs since submitting their plans for development and operation, one project remains unchanged, while four projects have reported higher costs.Two projects have seen an increase greater than 20 per cent…
Floatel Gets Martin Linge Extension
Swedish contractor Floatel International has received a new extension from Equinor for its accommodation unit Floatel Superior at the Martin Linge Field Development in Norway’s North Sea.The onshore operational support and supervision company said in a press release that Floatel Superior started its charter at Equinor’s Martin Linge project at the end of July 2018. The contract has now been extended with four months until the end of March 2020.Floatel also said that six monthly options remain in place for the Floatel Superior.Prior to her contract with Equinor…
Offshore Platforms Controlled from Land
Aker BP said it will become the first oil company in Norway to control operations of a permanently manned offshore platform from land from next year.Operating platforms remotely can be done with fewer staff than doing it offshore and other oil companies are also looking to do so to reduce production costs.Aker BP said Norway's oil safety watchdog on Wednesday approved the company's plans to switch controls at its Ivar Aasen oilfield in the North Sea."It will be the first manned platform in Norway to be controlled from onshore,"…
Equinor Extends Contract for Maersk Intrepid Rig
Norway's Equinor has awarded Maersk Drilling AS a five-month contract for the Maersk Intrepid rig to provide operational support on the Martin Linge field in the North Sea. Two extension options will also be exercised, and four new options will be added.Maersk Intrepid initially had a contract for operational support for the Martin Linge licence until April 2019. Equinor has chosen to exercise two one-month options, and then start a new contract from June 1 to October 31, 2019.In addition, Maersk Intrepid will get four new two-month extension options.
Equinor's Martin Linge Field Costs Rise Again, Start-up Delayed
Norway has again revised up the estimated cost of developing the Martin Linge oil and gas field, which state-controlled Equinor bought from France's Total last year, with the start-up delayed until 2020, according to the fiscal budget.The North Sea field is now expected to cost 47 billion crowns ($5.7 billion) to develop, up from the 41 billion crowns estimated last year, and 59 percent more than originally seen in 2012.The field's start-up has also been pushed back to the first quarter of 2020 from the first half of 2019, the budget showed.Equinor…
Statoil Takes Over as Martin Linge Operator
Statoil and Total have completed their previously announced transaction whereby Statoil has acquired Total’s equity stakes in, and taken over the operatorships of, the Martin Linge field and the Garantiana discovery on the Norwegian continental shelf. Statoil now has a 70 percent interest in Martin Linge and 40 percent in Garantiana. 121 employees from Total have been transferred over to Statoil in accordance with the Sale and Purchase Agreement and applicable legislation
Total Sells Two Norwegian Oilfields to Statoil
Statoil will become operator of both fields. French oil and gas major Total said on Monday it had agreed to sell its stakes in two Norwegian oilfields to Statoil for $1.45 billion as it reviews its North Sea portfolio after acquiring Denmark's Maersk Oil in August. The company said Statoil will take over its 51 percent stake in the Martin Linge field and its 40 percent holding in the Garantiana discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. "The forthcoming acquisition of Maersk Oil... leads us to review our portfolio in this area so as to focus on the assets in which Total will be able to generate synergies and reduce their break-even points…
Sulzer Acquires License for Total’s Wash Tank Technology
Sulzer’s Chemtech division has been granted a license covering the Total-patented Wash Tank Technology for Oil Processing. The main purpose of this technology is to enhance the removal of water, salt and contaminants from oil and emulsions, by a controlled distribution of the feed into the bottom of a hull tank of an FPSO/FSO/FPU which transforms the water-in-oil dispersion into an oil-in-water one where high efficiency phase separation takes place more easily. The technology also involves a simplification of the topsides crude oil process.
Total: Martin Linge Startup Delayed Until 2019
Total said on Thursday that the start of production at the Martin Linge oil and gas field located in the North Sea off the coast of Norway has been delayed following a previously-reported accident. Total said the start of production had now been pushed back to the first half of 2019 from later this year. Total holds a 51 percent stake in the field, Petoro owns 30 percent while Statoil holds 19 percent. The delay follows an accident in May, when six people died and more than 20 were injured after a crane collapsed onto a section of the platform under construction at a Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in Geoje.
O&G Industry Aligns for Fight Against CyberCrime
Cybercrimes cost energy and utilities companies an average of $12.8 million each year in lost business and damaged equipment1. Platform operators need confidence that countermeasures can deal with bigger and more sophisticated cyber-attacks. DNV GL is now collaborating with Shell, Statoil, Lundin, Siemens, Honeywell, ABB, Emerson and Kongsberg Maritime to develop best practice in addressing this threat. Other companies are still welcome to join. Cyber security is a growing issue in the oil and gas sector since critical network segments in production sites, which used to be kept isolated, are now connected to networks.
Total Mulls Sale of Martin Linge Stake
French oil and gas company Total is considering the sale of some of its 51 pct stake in the Martin Linge oil and gas field in Norway where it is the operator, Bloomberg reported. * It said the company was working with financial advisers but that no final decision has been taken and the company may also decide against the sale. * A spokesman for Total declined to comment. * The Martin Linge oilfield off Norway is expected to start production in early 2018. * Total's partners in the field are Statoil and Norwegian state-owned firm Petoro. (Writing by Bate Felix
Apply Emtunga Selects Roxtec for North Sea Projects
In the Arendal Yard in Gothenburg, Sweden, Apply Emtunga is building the offshore accommodation modules to the oil rig projects Martin Linge and ETAP. As the living quarters are to be the safest place on a rig Apply Emtunga puts a lot of effort into creating maximum safety. One way to ensure safety is to use Roxtec cable and pipe transits. The nine-floor high living quarters of Martin Linge are delivered as a complete integrated accommodation module from Gothenburg. It has three A60 fire rated divisions and an H60 fire rated bulkhead as partition towards the production and processing areas.
Baltic States Look to Cut Energy Cord with Russia
Baltic states are looking to synchronise their electricity grids with Nordic countries, away from Russia, in a move that has angered the Kremlin and could cost hundreds of millions of euros, government and energy officials said. More than 20 years after splitting from the former Soviet Union and joining the European Union in 2004, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia still depend on Russian power grid operators. They have begun reducing their dependence on Russian gas imports after Lithuania opened a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal last year, but ending the Soviet legacy in the power system has proved more complicated.
Total to Spend Less in Norway in 2016
French oil firm Total will spend slightly less next year on the Norwegian continental shelf than it did this year, a senior company official told Reuters on Wednesday. "What we're looking at is now the number of wells that we will have and of course we see that there's a significant shift in costs," Martin Borthne, a director for operations and projects at Total Norway, said in an interview. The Martin Linge oilfield off Norway will start production in early 2018, a senior official told Reuters on Wednesday, from an original planned start in December 2016.
Keppel FELS Delivers Largest Rig to Maersk
Keppel FELS Limited has delivered the ultra-harsh jackup rig, Maersk Integrator, to Maersk Drilling, a wholly owned subsidiary of A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S, thirty days ahead of schedule, on budget and with a perfect safety record. The rig was named at a ceremony today in Keppel FELS by Ms Margareth Øvrum, Executive Vice President, Technology, Projects and Drilling, Statoil. Maersk Integrator is an XL Enhanced (XLE) harsh environment jackup rig and the third in the XLE series delivered to Maersk Drilling. It has been customised…
MacArtney Sells FPSO Slip Rings to OneSubsea
MacArtney has received an order from OneSubsea for Moog Focal oil and condensate gas FPSO slip rings. The order also includes cables and associated junction boxes. The FPSO slip rings are designated for the 'Martin Linge' project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf due west of Bergen. Here, they will add to several innovative solutions and technologies designed to reduce CO₂ emissions and environmental impacts of the Martin Linge field, which, in turn, aims to open a new era of sustainable oil and gas production in the Norwegian North Sea.
Pulse Wins Platform Monitoring Contract in Norway
Pulse Structural Monitoring, an Acteon company, has been awarded a contract with Total E&P Norge AS to provide a real time integrity monitoring system, to measure platform displacement during drilling operations. The two-year contract, with a two-year extension option, will support Total’s development drilling activities on the Martin Linge field in the Norwegian North Sea. Drilling will be conducted with the ultra-harsh-environment jackup rig, the Maersk Intrepid. The Pulse system consists of INTEGRIpod motion data loggers on the jackup cantilever and the jacket to measure the relative motion of the structures.
