LNG player BG Group of UK today announced the start-up of production from the Gaupe field located in the Norwegian North Sea.
Gaupe marks BG Group’s first production from the Norwegian Continental Shelf. With estimated gross recoverable reserves of around 30 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), production from Gaupe is expected to reach a plateau production rate of around 15 000 boe per day gross during the third quarter.
BG Group Chief Executive, Sir Frank Chapman said: “ We are delighted to bring onstream our first production from Norway, adding a new country to our global production portfolio. We have delivered this project safely, on budget and in under four years from the declaration of commerciality. By utilising our existing infrastructure in the UK North Sea, the start-up of production from Gaupe also adds a new source of supply for the UK energy market .”
The field, located approximately 225 kilometres off the Norwegian coast, was discovered in 1984 and was appraised and declared commercial by BG Group in 2008. The field development plan was approved by the Norwegian government in 2010.
The Gaupe field is a cross-border subsea tie-back to the BG Group-operated Armada infrastructure located in the UK central North Sea. From Armada, the processed gas and liquids are exported via pipelines to the UK.
The partners in the field are BG Norge, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BG Group, 60% and operator, and Lundin Norway 40%.
[mappress] LNG World News Staff, April 2, 2012; Image: BG