North Sea

Phase 1 of the North Sea megaproject—Norway’s largest offshore development since the 1980s—has come on stream. Johan Sverdrup is expected to produce 660,000 BOPD at its peak.

Aker BP expects the unmanned facility, a further development of the Valhall field in the Norwegian North Sea, to recover 60 million BOE. Startup is expected sometime this fall.

The $43-million deal with Saipem will utilize a wireless underwater intervention drone and an ROV for intervention work on the Njord field in the Norwegian North Sea. Equinor said the contract is the first ever from an operator for advanced wireless drone services.

With its $4.5-billion acquisition of ExxonMobil’s remaining portfolio on the Norwegian Continental Shelf now official, Var Energi says it hopes to realize its ambitious growth plans.

Subsea advancements in the works include longer tiebacks, an underwater drone that lives on the seafloor, and a robotic manifold capable of actuating dozens of valves. Do these new capabilities, born of necessity, signal a sea change in industrywide technology development?

As part of a plan to increase revenue to more than $1 billion by 2023, the engineering and construction company is moving away from large offshore platforms with fixed substructures, saying that it expects to win and execute a series of FPSO projects in the future.

With production declining and a nearby terminal closed, UK authorities have given the nod for decommissioning to begin on the aging North Sea gas field. Perenco has been in operation since 1992, with Perenco taking over as operator from BP in 2003.

The pilot used sensor technology originally deployed by NASA for the Mars Curiosity Rover to collect methane emissions data live-streamed from a drone. BP said it plans to deploy the technology to all of its North Sea assets, including ETAP and Glen Lyon, in 2020.

After seeing a significant increase in the price level for subsea equipment, Equinor says it is realizing the ways in which standardized subsea templates help build financial competitiveness. The new standard allowed for the installation of 14 templates in one month.

Recent exploration success in the North Sea has motivated Total to invest some $10 billion in the basin over the next 5 years.