StatoilHydro has struck gas in the Asterix prospect of the Norwegian Sea, an area of smallish undeveloped gas discoveries for which Norway’s oil company is developing custom technology.

Asterix is said to contain 16 billion cubic metres of recoverable gas, or about as much as the Huldra field, where StatoilHydro has placed a remote-controlled wellhead platform. A similar solution could be employed at Asterix.

Well 6705/10-1 was drilled 350 kilometres northwest of Sandessjøen, and four other gas discoveries have been made some 50 km to the south and east. It’s the perfect configuration to try out mobile gas-lift technology for small fields that’s being tested at K-Lab, the oil company’s gas-technology proving ground at Kårstø in soutwhest Norway.

Two rival technologies are going through rigorous testing ahead of being deployed “from small field to small field” in pursuit of added value (see Scandinavian Oil-Gas Magazine).

StatoilHydro is also developing a wireless robot platform akin to the remotely operated Huldra and the wireless-heavy Snorre (see Scandinavian Oil-Gas Magazine).

Neither the robot platform nor the mobile gas compression will be ready this year, but both solutions offer inexpensive means to tap great value from the increasing numbers of smallish finds off Norway.

Huldra cost 8.8 billion kroner ($1.3 billion, by 2008 prices) to develop in 125 meters of water. Asterix lies in 1,360m of water and could cost more. Operator StatoilHydro (70 percent) is joined in License 327 B by Shell (10 percent) and state entity Petoro with 20 percent.

Tags: Petoro, Shell, StatoilHydro