Sleipner B compressor readied

StatoilHydro is preparing to lift a 1,300 tonne compressor module onto the Sleipner B platform this month. The compressor module will be transported from Haugesund to the Sleipner B platform in the southern part of the North Sea. Sleipner B is normally unstaffed and is the smallest of StatoilHydro’s stand-alone platforms. It will house the giant module designed to increase and accelerate gas production when the reservoir pressure drops. Expected lifetime of the Sleipner West field will be extended by two years thanks to the new module, and production is now expected to continue until 2024. “Such projects are crucial for StatoilHydro to maintain oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf in the years ahead,” says Marianne M Bjelland, who is head of StatoilHydro’s modifications and projects unit in Stavanger. The module will boost gas production by 4.5 billion standard cubic metres of gas and condensate production by 1.5 million standard cubic metres.