The Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway has given Det norske oljeselskap ASA consent to use the existing facilities on the Alvheim, Vilje and Volund fields, and the new Bøyla field, in the North Sea.
The background to this consent is Det norske ‘s acquisition of Marathon Oil Norge AS and the company’s production licence assets on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Marathon’s operatorship of the Alvheim, Vilje and Volund fields and the new Bøyla field will now be transferred to Det norske.
The date of transfer is set at 15 October 2014.
A change of operator entails the new operator applying for consent to use the facilities. PSA says this is because consent is an expression of the PSA’s confidence that the operating company is able to undertake operations prudently and in compliance with the regulations. The consent is based primarily on PSA’s assessment of relevant aspects of the company’s management system.
Alvheim
Alvheim is an oil and gas field in the central part of the North Sea, west of Heimdal and close to the boundary with the UK sector. The field includes three finds: 24/6-2 (Kamelon), 24/6-4 (Boa) and 25/4-7 (Kneler). Water depth in the area is 120-130 metres. The field has been developed using a production vessel, Alvheim FPSO, and subsea wells.
Oil from Alvheim is exported by tanker. Processed rich gas goes by pipeline from Alvheim to the Scottish Area Gas Evacuation (SAGE) pipeline system on the UK Continental Shelf.
The Vilje and Volund fields are tied back to the production vessel.
Production at Alvheim began in 2008.
Vilje
Vilje is an oil field in the central North Sea just north of the Heimdal field. Water depth in the area is 120 metres. The field has been developed using two subsea wells which are tied back to the Alvheim FPSO production vessel.
Production at Vilje began in 2008.
Volund
Volund is an oil field in the central North Sea around ten kilometres south of the Alvheim field. Water depth in the area is 120-130 metres. The field has been developed using one subsea facility with four horizontal wells which are tied back to the Alvheim FPSO production vessel.
Production at Volund began in 2009.
Bøyla
The Bøyla oil field is around 28 kilometres south of the Alvheim field. Water depth here is around 120 metres. Bøyla is planned to be developed in the same way as Vilje and Volund, using a subsea facility tied back to the Alvheim FPSO vessel.
The PDO for Bøyla was approved in 2012. Planned production start-up is Q1 2015.