Drilling starts on the Nova Field in Norway
Wintershall Dea has begun drilling the first of six wells on the operated Nova field in the Norwegian North Sea.
With most of the subsea work already complete and a dedicated module installed on the host platform, Gjøa, the start of drilling represents the beginning of the final major packet of work in the development of the Nova field.
Scheduled to be on site for around 400 days, the West Mira rig will drill three production wells through one of two subsea templates, and three water injection wells, through the second.
The start of drilling caps off a series of landmarks for the development since installation season began in March. In May, the manifolds were installed ahead of schedule. Then the topside module was installed on to the Neptune Energy-operated Gjøa platform in preparation for receiving oil and associated gas from the Nova field. This summer the risers, which connect the pipelines to the platform were also put in place.
“Despite developing this field at a time of almost unprecedented challenges from the Covid-19 outbreak, all involved have worked tirelessly as One Team to safely deliver the Nova milestones according to plan. Getting the rig into place marks the start of the last phase for the Nova project.” said André Hesse, Nova Project Director at Wintershall Dea.
The Seadrill-operated West Mira rig has been equipped with an energy-saving hybrid battery power plant, lowering emissions. As a subsea tie-back to existing platform Gjøa, the Nova field also sustainably benefits from in-place infrastructure, with no need for a major new facility.
The project leans into a wealth of Wintershall Dea experience operating underwater fields in Norway. When it comes on stream in 2022, Nova will be the company’s fourth subsea field in production. First oil is unlikely in 2021, as earlier forecasted, due to the impact of Covid-19 on the topside part of the project.
“In regions rich in infrastructure like the North Sea, it makes sense to engineer fields so they can take advantage of facilities that already exists in the area. We are strong believers in delivering our projects sustainably while also delivering value for our partners, our investors, and for the whole of Norway,” said Alv Bjørn Solheim, Wintershall Dea Norge Managing Director.
About Nova
Nova is located about 120 kilometres northwest of Bergen and approximately 17 kilometres southwest of the Gjøa platform in the Norwegian North Sea. Wintershall Dea has a 28% interest in the Gjøa license.
Partnership: Wintershall Dea (operator 45%), Spirit Energy Norge AS (20%), Edison Norge AS (15%), Sval Energi AS (10%) and ONE-Dyas Norge AS (10%).
Water depth: 370 metres
Development solution: Nova is being developed as a subsea tieback connecting two templates to the existing Gjøa platform which is operated by Neptune Energy. Gjøa will receive the production fluids and provide injection water and lift gas to the Nova field. Oil from Nova will be transported from Gjøa through the Troll Oil Pipeline II to Mongstad, associated gas will be exported via the Far North Liquids and Associated Gas System (FLAGS) pipeline to St Fergus in the UK, supplying the European energy market.
The use of existing infrastructure enables a cost-efficient extraction of the resources in the reservoir at 2,570 metres below sea level and extends the economic lifetime of the existing infrastructure.
