DNO, OKEA to Fast-Track Brasse Oil Project in Norway
Wednesday 9 August 2023
Norwegian oil and gas company DNO said Wednesday that a fast-track development concept has been agreed for its 2016 Brasse offshore oil and gas discovery in license PL740 offshore Norway.
The concept selection paves the way for detailed design studies to link up with the Brage field in which DNO also has an interest. A final investment decision is expected early next year, DNO said.
The project was restarted in early 2023 as the DNO's subsidiary DNO Norge AS (50 percent) and its new license partner, OKEA ASA (50 percent) initiated a review of a simplified tieback to the Brage platform in operation since 1993 and located 13 kilometers north of Brasse.
OKEA took over as Brage operator last fall and the main commercial terms for the tie-in now have been agreed with the Brage joint venture, in which DNO holds a 14.2567 percent stake.
This review has led to the approval of a concept selection (DG2) involving a "much-reduced" topside modification scope on Brage compared to previous considerations of a linkup with a host platform.
Well design has also been simplified for a two-well development targeting recovery of up to 30 million barrels of oil equivalent from Brasse (estimated two-thirds oil and one-third natural gas and NGL), with a potential start-up as early as 2026, DNO said.
"Together with OKEA we have come up with a win-win development concept for Brasse," said Ørjan Gjerde, General Manager DNO North Sea AS. “In addition to finally unlocking profitable barrels from the Brasse discovery itself, the project is expected to materially extend the Brage field’s remaining lifetime," he added.
To maximize synergies with Brage and lower costs, DNO has agreed to the transfer of operatorship of PL740 to OKEA, as well as the 50 percent interest in Brasse freed up following the exit of a prior license partner.
"Together with DNO, we have in a short time worked out a project alternative for Brasse with a simplified tieback to Brage. We have now decided to continue to mature a development solution with less extensive topside modifications and a simplification of the design of the production wells compared to previous project assessments. We believe that this will result in a better and less costly project," says OKEA SVP for Projects and Technology, Knut Gjertsen.