Norwegian oil and gas operators DNO and OKEA have agreed to a fast-track development concept to link the Brasse oil and gas discovery to the Brage field.
On 8 August, the two joint-venture partners said they selected a simplified tieback plan for the Brasse discovery made in 2016 to the Brage field. Brage is located in the northern North Sea, 125 km west of Bergen in 137 m of water. Discovered in 1980, the field started production in 1993. The Brage platform is located 13 km north of the discovery.
DNO said the project plan includes a reduced topside modification scope on the Brage platform and a two-well development targeting recovery of up to 30 million BOE from the Brasse field.
"Together with OKEA we have come up with a win-win development concept for Brasse," said Ørjan Gjerde, general manager DNO North Sea AS. “In addition to finally unlocking profitable barrels from the Brasse discovery itself, the project is expected to materially extend the Brage field’s remaining lifetime," he added.
OKEA, the operator of the Brage license, said that key commercial terms for the tie-in have been agreed to and that to reduce cost and maximize the synergies with Brage, the operatorship of the Brasse discovery will be transferred to OKEA from 1 September.
"Together with DNO, we have in a short time worked out a project alternative for Brasse with a simplified tieback to Brage. We have now decided to continue to mature a development solution with less extensive topside modifications and a simplification of the design of the production wells compared to previous project assessments. We believe that this will result in a better and less costly project," said Knut Gjertsen, OKEA senior vice president for project and technology.
The companies said a final investment decision is expected in early 2024, with potential production startup as early as 2026.
