Statoil Presents Development Plans for Aasta Hansteen
Statoil and its partners in harvesting the Aasta Hansteen field have announced progress, and submission of plans to the Norwegian government for approval.
Oslo's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has received the plan for development and operation (PDO) of the field. The Norwegian-based oil and gas major and partners in the Polarled Development Project partners have also submitted the plan for installation and operation (PIO). Polarled was previously known as the Norwegian Sea Gas Infrastructure (NSGI).
In a statement, the company said this represents a step forward in the development of the petroleum activities in the Norwegian Sea.
"We are very pleased to take another step in the development of Norwegian Sea activities together with our partners. Aasta Hansteen will be the first deep-water development in the Norwegian Sea," said Øystein Michelsen, Statoil's executive vice president, Development and Production Norway. "At the same time this opens for the tie-in of existing and new discoveries. The development may generate substantial ripple effects in the north."
Polarled is a new 480-km gas pipeline from Aasta Hansteen to Nyhamna in Møre og Romsdal county. The pipeline facilitates the development of Aasta Hansteen and other fields in the Norwegian Sea.
The project includes expansion of the Shell-operated gas plant at Nyhamna. A separate pipeline between Polarled and the Kristin platform will connect new infrastructure to existing infrastructure on Haltenbanken (Åsgard Transportation). In addition preparations will be made for the tie-in of existing and future discoveries in the area.
The Aasta Hansteen field will be run from Harstad, Statoil's new Operations North organisation. The supply base will be located in Sandnessjøen and the helicopter base in Brønnøysund.
The planned field development includes a SPAR platform, which will be the first such installation on the Norwegian continental shelf. SPAR is a floating installation consisting of a vertical column moored to the seabed. The installation features conventional topsides with processing facilities. The risers transporting the gas from the seabed to the platform and further to Polarled will be pure steel which will be first of its kind on the Norwegian continental shelf. The hull will be fitted with storage for condensate. The condensate will be loaded to shuttle tankers at the field.
The field is located outside established infrastructure in 1,300 meters of water. The investments in the Aasta Hansteen development are estimated at NOK 32 billion (€4.4 bn).