Neptune Energy has announced the start-up of production from its Fenja oil and gas field in the Norwegian Sea.
Located 75 miles north of Kristiansunds, Fenja lies at a water depth of 325 metres, and around 22 miles south west of the Equinor-operated Njord A platform, where production is routed via a pioneering new tie back.
Neptune operates the field (30%) alongside partners Vår Energi (45%), Sval Energi (17.5%) and DNO (7.5%).
The field is now expected to produce 35,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd, gross), via two oil producers, with pressure support from one water injector and one gas injector.
Of this, Energy Voice understands around 10,0000 boepd is attributable to Neptune.
Drilling on the four-well campaign began in October 201 using Odfjell Drilling’s semi-submersible Deepsea Yantai rig, and was completed last summer.
The development consists of two subsea templates tied back to the Equinor-operated Njord A platform. A 36 km electrically trace-heated (ETH) pipe-in-pipe solution transports oil from the Fenja field to the platform for processing and transport.
Due to the high wax content of the oil, the contents of the pipeline must be warmed up to a temperature above 28 degrees Celsius before starting the flow after a shut down.
During normal production, the temperature in the pipeline is well above this temperature. The tie-back to Njord A is the world’s longest ETH subsea production pipeline.
Neptune Energy’s managing director in Norway and the UK, Odin Estensen, said: “The Fenja development is an excellent example of how our industry uses innovative technologies to overcome challenges. The ETH pipe-in-pipe solution is crucial for transporting the oil, and is a creative, cost-effective approach that enables the field to be tied back to existing infrastructure.
“Fenja is also located in a strategically important growth area for Neptune Energy, with a number of other interesting prospects nearby.”
Total reserves are estimated between 50 and 75 million boe, of which 75% is oil and 25% is gas.
Neptune’s Projects and Engineering Director in Norway, Erik Oppedal, added: “The ETH pipeline represents an important technological step, made possible through excellent collaboration between TechnipFMC and Neptune Energy. It could also unlock opportunities to develop future tieback developments.”
It comes just one day after the gas-focused operator confirmed new flows from its eleventh well at the UK’s Cygnus field, expected to produce a additional 4,000 boepd.