Halten Øst

Halten Øst Oil and Gas Field Profile

Location

The Halten Øst field is located in the Norwegian Sea, offshore Norway, just east of the Åsgard field. It spans across several blocks, including 6507/11P (PL 263), 6407/6P (PL 312), 6507/10P (PL 263), 6407/2P (PL 473), and others, with water depths ranging from 200 to 300 meters.

Discoveries and Reserves

The Halten Øst field consists of six gas and condensate discoveries: Natalia, Sigrid, Nona, Flyndretind, Gamma, and Harepus. These discoveries are spread out over an area of approximately 65 kilometers. The field holds around 100 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), primarily consisting of gas and condensate. The reserves include:

• Gas: 9,090 million cubic meters (2P reserves)
• Oil: 15.85 million barrels (2P reserves)
• NGL: 12.33 million barrels (2P reserves).

Operator and Ownership

The project is operated by Equinor Energy AS, which holds a 57.70% interest. Other partners include Vår Energi AS (24.60%), Spirit Energy (or Sval Energi AS, 11.80%), and Petoro AS (5.90%).

Development Plan

The Halten Øst project involves the development of the six discoveries and three additional prospects as a single multi-field project. This approach was chosen because individual development of the small-size discoveries was not economically viable.

• Infrastructure: The field will be developed using five subsea templates tied back to the existing Åsgard facilities. This includes two subsea templates in the north and three in the south.
• Wells: The plan involves drilling up to ten wells, with the first phase including six wells from 2024-2025 and the second phase starting in 2029.
• Pipelines: The southern templates will be connected via a 49km pipeline from Mikkel South to the Åsgard Subsea Compressor Manifold Station (SCMS), and the northern structure will be tied-in via a 22km pipeline from Natalia to SCMS.

Production and Transport

• Processing: The gas, oil, and condensates will be processed at Åsgard B.
• Export: Oil and condensate products will be stored in Åsgard C and exported via tankers. The gas will be transferred through the Åsgard Transport Gas Pipeline to Kårstø and eventually to Europe, with 60% of the gas exported via Kårstø.

Contractors and Contracts

Several contractors are involved in the project:

• Aker Solutions: Selected to deliver the subsea production system, including subsea trees, control systems, and umbilicals.
• Wood: Awarded the contract for the detailed design of subsea pipelines.
• TechnipFMC: Awarded an EPCI contract for manufacturing and installing flowlines, umbilicals, and subsea structures.
• Transocean: Contracted for the Transocean Spitsbergen semi-submersible rig to drill production wells.

Investment and Employment

• Investment: The project is expected to cost around NOK 9 billion (approximately $940 million), with contracts worth NOK 7 billion to be awarded subject to government approval of the Plan for Development and Operation (PDO).
• Employment: The development phase is expected to provide more than 3,000 person-years of employment per year over five years from 2022 to 2029. More than 90% of the investment will go to Norwegian suppliers.

Status and Timeline

• PDO Approval: The Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) was submitted in May 2022 and approved in February 2023.
• Production Start: Commercial production is expected to begin in 2025, with peak production forecasted in 2027. The field is expected to continue production until it reaches its economic limit in 2082.

Reservoir and Recovery Strategy

The reservoirs contain mainly gas and condensate in Lower to Upper Jurassic sandstone formations (Tilje, Tofte, Ile, Garn, and Melke Formations) at depths between 2000 and 3000 meters. The drainage strategy is based on pressure depletion with aquifer support.