Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has approved Equinor’s Vigdis boosting station project, which is located in the North Sea. Expected start-up is in the first quarter of 2021.
The Equinor-operated Vigdis field is located in the Tampen area of the North Sea. The field has been developed with seven subsea templates and produces oil and gas, which is then sent to the Snorre field for further export. It came on stream in 1997.
Back in December 2018, Equinor decided to boost production at its subsea field Vigdis by almost 11 million barrels.
The new project involves installing a pump on the seabed that helps increase recovery and accelerate production from the field, according to the ministry’s statement on Tuesday.
“Increased recovery can create great values, and Vigdis is a good example of this. Now the field gets a new boost. With the Vigdis Boosting project, the recovery increases further and great values are created for society,” says State Secretary Rikard Gaarder Knutsen .
The boosting station will be connected to the pipeline to enhance the capacity between Vigdis and Snorre A, and will help bring the well stream from the subsea field up to the platform. Thanks to the boosting station wellhead pressure can also be reduced, which further increases production from the wells.
In addition to the subsea boosting station the project will involve some modifications to Snorre A, which receives oil from the Vigdis field, and Snorre B, supplying the new boosting station with power from a new umbilical.
“Vigdis has already produced twice what it thought was possible when the field was put into production. This project increases value creation from the field and gives new assignments to the supplier industry,” said Gaarder Knutsen.