Friday 10 January 2020

The Norweigan Shelf had a good 2019 overall a record number of fields are producing.

Lots of wells and lots of discoveries.

This can be seen by the fact 57 exploration wells were spudded in 2019 an increase of 4 more than the previous year. 37 of these were in the North Sea, 15 were drilled in the Norweigan shelf and 5 in the Barents Sea. 2020 is expected to see at least 50 exploartion wells showing the "inudstry still has faith in the Norweigan Shelf." says Director General of the NPD Ingrid Sølvberg.

What's more 83 production lincenses were were awarded in 2019 in the Awards in Pre-defined Areas (APA 2018). Also the highest number recorded.

17 discoveries were made in 2019, the majority in the North sea (10) with 6 in the Norwegian Sea and 1 in the Barents Sea. These discovieres have helped production at a high level, seen by the fact that since 2011, , an average of 80 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of oil equivalent (o.e.) has been proven each year.

Field record numbers in operation

By the end of 2019, there was 87 producing fields in the shelf again the highest volume. Most of the oil and gas

still comes from the major fields. About half of the fields are subsea developments tied into other infrastructure.

The Shelf while projects that the overall production of oil and gas in 2024 will be close to the record year 2004. Overall production declined somewhat in 2019 compared with the previous year. This was caused by somewhat lower gas production than expected.

At the end of 2019, 25 fields were no longer producing on the Norwegian shelf. One field that has not been producing is Tor, and it is scheduled to start back up at the end of 2020. A study conducted by the NPD in 2019 showed that there are considerable opportunities to improve recovery using advanced methods (EOR, enhanced oil recovery). Another study shows that there is also a substantial potential for producing more oil and gas from tight reservoirs, which means reservoirs where it is difficult to get oil and gas flowing due to low permeability.

Investments : expectations for a stable high level in the next few years

In 2019, investments (except exploration) are estimated at around NOK 150 billion. This is 17 per cent higher than in 2018. The same level is expected in 2020, before it will decline somewhat. The high investment level is caused in part by multiple new fields under development, and the implementation of further development projects.

The NPD's forecasts presume moderate growth in the cost level moving forward.

"As regards value creation from the shelf in general, and as regards profitability associated with new projects in particular, it is crucial that the companies are able to avoid new substantial cost spiral", the Director General emphasises.

Overall investments and costs associated with activity on the Norwegian shelf totalled around NOK 250 billion in 2019. The development of new fields and investments in fields in operation account for most of the activity and use of resources, but extensive amounts were also spent on exploration and operation. About NOK 60 billion was spent in 2019 to operate fields, pipes and onshore facilities.

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