Embla

Location and Geology

The Embla oil field is situated in the southern part of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, approximately south of the Eldfisk field. The water depth at the site is 70 meters.

The reservoir at Embla consists of segmented sandstone and conglomerate formations of Devonian and Permian age. The reservoir is located at a depth of more than 4,000 meters and is characterized by high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions, with a complex, highly faulted structure.

Discovery and Development

The first well to test oil at Embla was drilled in 1974, but the field was not formally discovered until 1988. The Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) was approved in 1990. An amended PDO was approved in 1995.

Production

Production at the Embla field began in 1993. The field is developed with an unmanned wellhead facility, which is remotely controlled from the Eldfisk field. The production strategy involves pressure depletion.

Infrastructure

The Embla field is tied to the Eldfisk S facility through a pipeline. Oil and gas produced from Embla are transported to the Eldfisk S facility for processing and then further to the Ekofisk Centre for export. Gas from the Ekofisk area, including Embla, is transported via the Norpipe gas pipeline to Emden in Germany, while the oil is sent via the Norpipe oil pipeline to Teesside in the UK.

Current Status

As of 2022, the production licence for the Embla field, which is part of production licence 018, was extended until 2048. The Eldfisk II development project included tying the Embla field to the new integrated Eldfisk S facility, which extended the lifetime of the Embla field. Currently, there are four active production wells at Embla, and due to the complexity of the reservoir, there are no plans other than optimizing the existing production wells.

Ownership and Operation

The Embla field is operated by ConocoPhillips Skandinavia, although the specific ownership percentages are not detailed in the sources provided for Embla alone. However, it is part of the broader Eldfisk area operations, where ConocoPhillips Skandinavia, TotalEnergies EP Norge, Var Energi, Sval Energi, and Petoro are stakeholders.

Transport and Export

Oil and gas from Embla are processed at the Eldfisk S facility and then exported through the Ekofisk Centre. The gas is routed via the Norpipe gas pipeline to Emden, Germany, and the oil is sent via the Norpipe oil pipeline to Teesside, UK.

In summary, the Embla oil field is a significant production site in the Norwegian North Sea, characterized by its complex HPHT reservoir and integrated production facilities tied to the Eldfisk field.