Calgary-based oil company Talisman has won an increased oil recovery award from Norwegian authorities for “guts and determination to create value where others have given up”, notably at the North Sea oilfield Yme.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s noted the added value created by Talisman at marginal and mature fields other companies had been unable to develop. The NPD said the award was also recongition for reopening the Yme field, “first (expired) field to be re-opened on the Norwegian shelf”.

Five years after its start-up, high levels of water production, low oil prices and high rental costs drove operator Statoil to shut the field down in 2001. Talisman took over and submitted a new plan for development and operation in 2007.

Production will recommence in 2009 with high-deviation wells and downhole pumps to handle the extreme water production.

Some 60 million barrels of Yme reserves await Talisman’s customers. The recovery factor for Yme, considered a complex field, is expected to rise from 15 percent (under Statoil) to 35 percent (under Talisman).

Talisman has also taken over as operator at the North Sea fields Varg and Gyda, both in tail-end production. Varg was due to close down in 2002, but with new wells, water injection and gas lift Talisman has tripled its production under Norwegian leadership.

The recovery rate is expected to reach approximately 40 per cent.

BP’s Gyda field is also turning in unexpected volumes.

Tags: Talisman Energy