Project Profile
Location: Norwegian Continental Shelf, west of Haugesund
Reserves: 180 million boe
Start-up Year: December 2008
Water depth: 125 m (410 ft)
The Alvheim field is located on Production License 203 and extends into neighboring PL088 and PL036. The field is situated on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, west of Haugesund and close to the UK border in a water depth of 125 metres (410 feet). The field consists of three principal oil and gas discoveries named Kneler, Kamelion and Boa, each of which contains hydrocarbons in the Paleocene sandstones. Although the accumulations were discovered in 1974, and another one in 1992, the area lay dormant until acquired by the current operator, Marathon. In 1998, drilling began, and it is estimated the field contains resources of up to 180 million boe. The development plan for production was approved in 2004. Marathon holds a 65% interest in the Alvheim field and serves as the operator. Norske ConocoPhillips AS has a 20% working interest, and Lundin Norway AS has the remaining 15% interest.
Field Development:
Alvheim consists of 10 producing wells and two water disposal wells in the Phase 1 portion of the drilling, with first production commencing by the end of 2008. Shortly after, phase 2 began in 2009 to further produce more wells on the field. The engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) contract for the development of the field was awarded to Vetco Aibel of Norway for topside work related to the FPSO, which is a central element of the Alvheim development. The total value of the contract was US$350 million (2.2 billion NOK). The Alvheim FPSO has a capacity of 120,000 bopd and 125 Mmcf/d (3.5 MMcm/d) with total storage capacity of 560,000 barrels of oil. It is a centrally located hub, situated about 140 miles (225 kilometres) from Stavanger, Norway, in approximately 400 feet (125 metres) of water. It is also equipped to produce low emission gas turbines, which is a first on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In 2004, Marathon signed a contract with APL for the turret mooring system for the Alvheim FPSO, an STP system for permanent mooring of the MST. The system has 14 slots through the turret to accommodate the risers and umbilical for the initial subsea wells and for planned expansions. Twelve lines moor the vessel in an arrangement designed to withstand a 100-year storm and 14.6-metre (47.90 feet) waves. The length of the FPSO is 827 feet (252 metres) with a design draft of 49 feet (15 metres). The gas compression will produce 125 MMcf/d (3.5 MMcm/d), and water injection will produce 130,000 bwpd. The lifetime of the field is 25 years.
in 2015, Det norske decided to develop Viper-Kobra. The project comprises two small discoveries in the Alvheim area. According to plan, approximately 7 500 barrels will be flowing into the Alvheim FPSO every day around Christmastime 2016. Viper-Kobra is located in the Alvheim area and consists of two separate discoveries with a potentially connected reservoir. Kobra was discovered in 1997 (production licence 203) and Viper (production licence 203) in 2009. Viper-Kobra is not a separate field, but constitutes part of the Alvheim field. Thus, the development is included in the PDO for Alvheim, as are the other structures in the area. The two reservoirs contain approximately 4 million barrels of recoverable oil each. Including some gas, total recoverable reserves are estimated at 9 million barrels of oil equivalent. The estimated output of the wells is an average daily rate of 7 500 barrels of oil equivalent. The development comprises a new subsea installation with a pipeline tied into the Volund manifold. The four well slots are designated for one well from Viper and one from Kobra, in addition to two well slots intended for potential future wells in the area. According to plan, the first contracts will be awarded in January 2015. The drilling of wells will likely begin during the spring of 2016. Installation of templates and hook-up is scheduled for September the same year, whereas start-up of production is planned for year-end 2016 or early 2017
Operators:
Det norske oljeselskap ASA: Operator with 65% interest
Norske ConocoPhillips AS: 20% interest
Lundin Norway AS: 15% interest
Contractors:
DeepOcean: Subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) activities
APL: Turret mooring system for the Alvheim FPSO, an STP system for permanent mooring of the MST
Fabricom AS: Maintenance and modification services
Subsea 7: EPC contract
Technip: Engineering, fabrication, installation and diving tie-ins of pipeline spools and supply of underwater services for the Bøyla field and the Alvheim FPSO and connected subsea facilities. Technip will be using DSV Skandi Arctic and DSV Wellservicer, and the light diving craft LDC Technip Seahunter. August 2015, subsea installation contract at Bøyla on an EPCI contract, as a part of the Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) project on Alvheim
Vetco Aibel: EPCIC contract for the development of the field
Aibel: Front-end engineering and design study work for the upgrade of the Alvheim floating production, storage and offloading vessel
Transocean: Drilling services using the Transocean Leader mobile drilling facility
Fugro: Contract to provide wave measurements to support construction operations at an improved oil recovery (IOR) project on the Norwegian continental shelf, around 225 kilometres west of Stavanger. Technip required access to real-time wave measurements in order to estimate the sea state with reliability and confidence. The data will be used to inform safe and efficient operational planning activities, minimise risk and maximise cost-efficiency. Technip commissioned Fugro to deploy a Datawell Waverider buoy to monitor wave conditions onsite in real time over a period of 12 months. The Waverider buoy is now collecting a range of raw wave data, processing the information and then transmitting summary wave parameters at half-hourly intervals via satellite link. Data including wave period, height and direction are then displayed on a project-specific web page that can be accessed by the client and other interested parties via a secure log-in. The information is presented in real-time on a variety of user-friendly pages, with options including graphic formats and tabular data. Alao awarded a three-year contract for integrity management support (IMS) from Det Norske in June 2016.
Transocean: Contract for the semi-submersible drilling rig Transocean Arctic to be used for drilling in the Alvheim and Volund fields, offshore Norway. The contract scope for drilling of four wells in the Alvheim area will take up to 250 days and has a value of approximately US$44.75 million excluding options. The award is for a traditional well contract based on a daily rate and with several flexible options built into the agreement. The Transocean Arctic is a harsh environment midwater semi-submersible drilling rig also certified for drilling wells in the Barents Sea and under HPHT (high pressure and high temperature) conditions. (December, 2015)
IKM Cleandrill: MRR riserless closed loop mud recovery services. (November, 2016)
Schlumberger: 4D seismic data
Subcontractors:
Bergen Group: EPC contract by Subsea 7
Conductor Installation Services (CIS) (Acteon compan): Second subsea piling campaign for Technip in Norway. CIS used its remotely operated Subsea Piling System, which makes it possible to drive piles as large as 36-in. in diameter, in water depths to 300 metres. In August, the piles were driven remotely to secure the subsea Boa Extension Manifold, which makes up an integral part of the Alvheim development, approximately 225 kilometres west of Stavanger.(November 2015)