A North Sea oil field given an extra 40 years of life after a multi-billion pound investment has been brought back on stream, BP said today.
The UK oil major said the Valhall complex, in the Norwegian sector, was expected to build up to around 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day in the second half of this year.
Daily output before the redevelopment project was about 40,000 boe.
Work on the field included a new production, utilities and accommodation platform and a new power from shore system.
Output had been shut in since July last year to move over to the new platform.
“The Valhall re-development project is another significant milestone for BP and is an important investment in our North Sea portfolio,” said BP chief executive Bob Dudley.
He added: “It is one of BP’s most complex field expansion developments and gives Valhall a further 40-year design life, with the capacity to handle 120,000 barrels of oil and 143million cubic feet of gas per day.”
BP has previously said the Valhall redevelopment, along with its Skarv project – a floating production platform in the Norwegian sector which came online earlier this month – would help increase the firm’s output in Norway from 30,000 boe per day to 60,000.
This would make the firm’s Norwegian production count for one-third of its overall North Sea output.
BP Norway is the operator of Valhall with a 35.9% interest. Hess Norge owns the remaining 64.1%.
The investment in Valhall means the complex is now 100% powered from shore, via a 294-km direct-current cable from Lista, the first field offshore Norway and within BP to use such a power-from-shore system.
This will make direct emissions to air from the Valhall field close to zero, said BP.
Including the new platform, the Valhall field complex now has six separate manned platforms: quarters; drilling; production; wellheads; water injection; and the new combined process and hotel platform.
In addition it has two unmanned flank platforms, each approximately 6km from the main facilities.
Discovered in 1975, first production from the Valhall field came in 1982. The redevelopment project is expected to extend production from the field to 2050.
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