According to plans, Byrding will remain on stream for 8-10 years (illustration: Statoil)

Statoil and its partners have submitted the Plan for Development and Operation of the Byrding (previously Astero) oil and gas discovery in the North Sea to government authorities.

Capital expenditures estimated at approximately NOK 1 billion, recoverable volumes are projected at approx. 11 million barrels of oil equivalent.

“This is another example of a new discovery being realised through existing infrastructure,” says Torger Rød, Statoil’s senior vice president for project development.

The Byrding development includes a duo-lateral well drilled from the existing Fram H-Nord subsea template through which oil and gas from Byrding will flow to Troll C.

Oil and gas will be piped from there through existing pipelines to Mongstad and Kollsnes respectively.

Capital expenditures have been reduced from initially approximately NOK 3.5 billion to the current estimate of approximately NOK 1 billion.

“Byrding shows that successful improvement efforts in Statoil, and in this case particularly within drilling and well, allow new development projects to be realised,” Rød says.

The duo-lateral well to be drilled is some seven kilometres long, the first kilometres being shared by the two laterals.

“Combined with the use of an available well slot in an existing subsea template this reduces the costs of the project substantially. The project is profitable also in the current oil price environment,” Rød says.

The field is scheduled to come on stream in the third quarter of 2017. The project will thus yield a return in the same year as investments are made.

“Byrding will add new profitable volumes from the Troll / Fram area, boosting the activity and production on the Troll C platform,” says Gunnar Nakken, Statoil’s senior vice president for Operations West.

Tags: Statoil