Statoil-operated Gudrun Field Starts Production

Statoil, GDF Suez and OMV started production on the Gudrun oil and gas field in the North Sea, contributing to Norway’s hopes to maximise value creation with a mix of new projects and existing facilities.

"Gudrun is the first new Statoil-operated platform to come on stream on the Norwegian continental shelf since 2005. This is a red-letter day for the company," Arne Sigve Nylund, Statoil's executive vice president for the Development and Production Norway business area, said in a note released on Monday.

According to Statoil, Gudrun investment decision was made during the financial crisis. When the plan for development and operation (PDO) was submitted in 2010, Gudrun was Statoil's only mega-project (investments in excess of NOK 12 billion). Statoil sold 24% stake in Gudrun to OMV in October.

"We have delivered the Gudrun field on time and below the cost estimate in the PDO. Choosing a global strategy for Gudrun has contributed to reducing the costs," Margareth Øvrum, head of the Technology, Projects and Drilling business area in Statoil, commented.

Gudrun, which was discovered in 1975, is a high temperature-high pressure field. It has left in the bank for more than 30 years for technological reasons.  

‘Oil and gas from Gudrun is sent to Sleipner, where it will be processed before the oil is sent on to Kårstø and the gas to Europe, all through existing pipelines tied in to Sleipner. This allows us to benefit from previous investments made on the Norwegian shelf,’ reads the communiqué.

Norway is trying to sustain the oil and gas industry although its massive pension fund is reported to mull scaling down its investments in the area. According to another note, ‘on 8 April, the NPD will hold a conference on measures to improve project execution on the Norwegian shelf for about 100 oil industry executives.’