Åsgard

Location

The Åsgard field is situated on the Haltenbanken in the Norwegian Sea, approximately 200 kilometers offshore from the Trøndelag coast and 50 kilometers south of Statoil's Heidrun field.

Fields and Deposits

The Åsgard field comprises three main deposits:

• Midgard: A gas and condensate field.
• Smørbukk: An oil and gas field.
• Smørbukk South: Also an oil and gas field.

Geology and Reserves

The fields are characterized by reservoirs from the Jurassic age, specifically the Garn, Ile, Tofte, Tilje, and Are formations. The Midgard deposit is divided into four segments, primarily consisting of the Garn and Ile formations.

The total reserves of the Åsgard field are estimated at:

• Oil and Condensate: Approximately 825-830 million barrels.
• Gas: Around 212 billion cubic meters.

Water Depth

The water depths in the area range from 240 to 320 meters.

Development and Infrastructure

The development of the Åsgard field involves several key infrastructure components:

Åsgard A

• Production Vessel: A monohull unit designed for oil and condensate production. It has a production capacity of 200,000 barrels per day (b/d) of oil and 24 million cubic meters per day (MMcm/d) of gas. The vessel also has a storage capacity of approximately 907,000 barrels of oil. It was in place by 8 February 1999 and started producing oil on 19 May 1999.

Åsgard B

• Gas Platform: A semisubmersible, floating platform for gas processing and the stabilization of oil and condensates. Developed by Kvaerner, it was towed to the field on 14 April 2000 and came onstream in autumn 2000. The platform has a capacity of 38 MMcm/d of gas, 90,000 b/d of condensate, and 6,500 b/d of oil.

Åsgard C

• Storage Unit: A condensate storage vessel with a capacity of 868,000 barrels.

Subsea Systems

• The field features an extensive subsea production system with 63 production and injection wells distributed across 19-23 subsea templates. The system includes 300 kilometers of flowlines and 110 kilometers of umbilicals.

Production

• Oil: The field produces approximately 163,000 barrels per day.
• Condensate: Around 94,000 barrels per day.
• Gas: About 1.28 billion cubic feet per day.

Export

• Liquids: Transferred via a loading system to shuttle tankers for transport to customers or terminals.
• Gas: Exported through the 745-kilometer, 42-inch Åsgard Transport System pipeline to Kårstø, where heavier components are separated, and the dry gas is further transported via the Europipe II pipeline to continental customers.

Ownership and Partners

The field is operated by Equinor (formerly Statoil), with the following ownership structure:

• Equinor: 34.57%
• Petoro: 35.69%
• Vår Energi: 22.06% (previously Eni Norge and other partners)
• Total E&P Norge: 7.68%
• ExxonMobil: 7.24% (previously Mobil).

Development History

• The fields were discovered in the 1980s: Midgard in 1981, Smørbukk in 1984, and Smørbukk South in 1985.
• The Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) was submitted in 1996.
• Oil production began on 19 May 1999, and gas production started in October 2000.

Technological and Environmental Aspects

• The Åsgard project was notable for its technological advancements, including the use of subsea wells tied back to floating production facilities, which was a first for gas processing at the time.
• In 2011, the partners submitted a plan for subsea gas compression to improve recovery from the Mikkel and Midgard fields, which was implemented by Q1 2015.
• The Smørbukk Nord field, discovered in 2013, is being developed with a high-pressure, high-temperature (HP/HT) subsea production system, emphasizing reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Additional Fields Tied to Åsgard Infrastructure

The Åsgard infrastructure also supports production from other nearby fields, including:

• Mikkel: A gas field.
• Morvin: An oil field.
• Trestakk: An oil field.
• Smørbukk North-East: A gas and condensate field developed as a tie-back to the Åsgard B platform.