Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Terje Søviknes, on Thursday visited Engie-operated Gjøa offshore platform – Norway’s fifth largest producing platform, according to Engie.
According to the company’s statement on the same day, it was the first time the Minister visited the Gjøa platform, located just outside the coast of Florø, in the North Sea off Norway.
Together with the Mayor of Florø, Ola Teigen , and the County Mayor of Sogn og Fjordane, Jenny Følling , the minister was presented with the company’s future plans in the area as well as a tour of the platform, Engie said.
“I’m very happy and grateful that companies such as Engie look at the opportunities that lie in core areas such as this. We are committed to increased recovery from existing fields, where there are also good opportunities for using existing infrastructure,” said Terje Søviknes.
Engie E&P Norge, which is the operator of the Gjøa field, currently has high activity in what is considered the company’s core area. In 2016, the company made Norway’s second largest discovery in the area, the Cara discovery in PL 636, where studies are underway towards DG1 / BOOK in November 2017.
“We are very pleased that the Minister had the opportunity to come to Gjøa and get an insight into the opportunities that lie in this area. Gjøa was built to be a hub for production for a long time to come – and it is now much happening both in terms of increasing the recovery of existing fields, but also tie-ins of new discoveries,” says Hilde Ådland , Asset Manager Gjøa in Engie E&P Norge.”
The company recently concluded the acquisition of 4D seismic on the Gjøa field, where the objective was to acquire greater knowledge of the underground and assess the possibility of finding more recoverable resources in the field.
The semi-submersible production unit Gjøa has full processing and export capabilities. Oil is exported to the Mongstad crude oil terminal. Export of gas ends up at the St. Fergus gas terminal in Scotland.
Engie was recently forced to shut down the platform following a gas leak which prompted an investigation by the company itself and the Norwegian offshore safety agency, the Petroleum Safety Authority. The production was restored about two weeks later.
Engie has 30% interest in the field and its partners are Shell with 12%, Dea Norge with 8%, Petoro with 30% and Wintershall Norge with the remaining 20% interest.