Alve

Alve Gas and Condensate Field Profile

Location and Geography

• The Alve Gas and Condensate Field is located in the Norwegian Sea, approximately 16 kilometres southwest of the Norne Oil Field.

Operator and Ownership

• The field is currently operated by Equinor Energy, a subsidiary of Equinor ASA. The ownership is shared among Equinor, DNO, and Orlen.

History

• The Alve field was discovered in 1990.
• The Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) was approved by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in 2007.
• Contracts for the development were awarded to various contractors, including Acergy, Technip and Subsea 7, and Aker Kvaerner, in 2007.
• Production from the Alve field began in 2009.

Geology

• The reservoirs at Alve are located in the Jurassic sandstones of the Garn, Not, Ile, and Tilje formations.
• The reservoir lies at a depth of about 3,600 metres, and the field is situated in deepwater with a water depth of approximately 1,243 feet (378 metres).

Reserves and Production

• The estimated recoverable reserves are 6.78 billion cubic metres of gas and 8.3 million barrels of condensate.
• The field has recovered about 57.69% of its total recoverable reserves as of recent data. Peak production was achieved in 2009, and production is expected to continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2070.

Production Volume and Delivery

• The expected maximum gas production is roughly four million cubic metres of gas per day.
• Production from the Alve field is delivered to the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel on the Norne Oil Field.

Contractors and Development

• Key contractors involved in the project include:
  • Acergy: Installation of well control umbilical, production riser, DEH feeder cable, template, spool, and associated structures.
  • Technip and Subsea 7: Project management, engineering, procurement, installation, installation support, and pre-commissioning of a rigid production flowline.
  • Aker Kvaerner: Modification of the Norne FPSO topside.
  • Transocean: Other contracting services.

Expansion and Future Projects

• An expansion project associated with the Alve field is the Gjøk project, which is currently in the construction stage and expected to start in 2024.

Production Process

• The production process involves drilling, completion, and flowback phases, though specific details on the flowback phase for Alve are not provided. Generally, flowback is the initial stage of production after a well is opened, involving the management of volatile fluids and sand to ensure the well can normalize and produce consistently.

In summary, the Alve Gas and Condensate Field is a significant deepwater gas and condensate field in the Norwegian Sea, operated by Equinor Energy, with substantial reserves and ongoing production activities.