StatoilHydro submits plan for Troll oil and gas field

Norway’s StatoilHydro and partners plan to invest about $ 2 bn for further development of the big Troll oil and gas field, aiming to boost oil recovery and maintain gas exports, StatoilHydro said.
“The new development plan is an overall description of our plans for the oil production at Troll and provides for profitable oil production through 2030,” StatoilHydro said. “The Troll partners’ new plan has an investment limit of almost NOK 10 bn ($ 1.98 bn),” StatoilHydro said.

StatoilHydro is the operator and has a 30.58 % stake. Its partners in Troll are Norway’s state-owned Petoro with 56 %, Shell with 8.1 %, France’s Total with 3.69 % and ConocoPhillips with 1.62 %.
The plan will also result in increased production opportunities at neighbouring fields, as Troll processing capacity available for a longer period than earlier expected, Hege Marie Norheim, head of StatoilHydro's reserve and business development on the Norwegian shelf, said.

Troll, which came on stream in 1996 and holds 60 % of the gas reserves on the Norwegian shelf, is the biggest gas field in the North Sea. It is also one of Norway’s biggest oilfields.
Before Statoil’s takeover of Norsk Hydro’s petroleum assets last year, the Troll partners had trouble agreeing on further development because Statoil operated the gas production and Hydro the oil, which meant conflicting interests. StatoilHydro is now overall operator.

Improve oil recovery
The plan for development and operation submitted to the Oil and Energy Ministry aims to improve oil recovery on Troll West while maintaining current gas export capacity from Troll East at 120 mm cmpd, the company said. Gas production capacity will be kept at that level until a need for further compressor capacity arises due to a drop in reservoir pressure, it said.
The plan includes a new gas injection plant for improved oil recovery at Troll B, a new gas pipeline from the Troll A platform to the Kollsnes gas-processing plant, and replacement of production pipes in gas wells running to Troll A.

“Gas injection in Troll West will increase the oil reserves at Troll by 17 mm barrels,” Statoil Hydro said.
The offshore modifications are scheduled to start this year and the gas injection plant will be in place by the turn of 2011-12, the company said. The new rich gas pipeline designed to maintain the daily gas production capacity will come on stream in 2011, it said.