Statfjord

Discovery and Location

The Statfjord oil field was discovered in 1974 by Mobil and is located in the Tampen area of the North Sea, straddling the border between the Norwegian and British sectors. The Norwegian share of the field lies in blocks 33/9 and 33/12 of production licence 037, while the British part is in UK block 211/25 in licences 104 and 293.

Field Development

The Statfjord field has been developed with three main production platforms: Statfjord A, B, and C.

Statfjord A

• Began production on 24 November 1979.
• Topside weight: 41,500 tons.
• Concrete substructure weight: 200,100 tons.
• Storage volume: 206,000 m³.
• Total height: 270 metres.
• Living quarters accommodate: 206 people.

Statfjord B

• Started production on 5 November 1982.
• Topside weight: 42,500 tons.
• Concrete substructure weight: 310,500 tons.
• Storage volume: 302,000 m³.
• Total height: 271 metres.
• Living quarters accommodate: 228 people.

Statfjord C

• Began production on 26 June 1985.
• Topside weight: 50,000 tons.
• Concrete substructure weight: 290,000 tons.
• Storage volume: 302,000 m³.
• Total height: 290 metres.
• Living quarters accommodate: 345 people.

Production and Reserves

• The field is one of the oldest and largest producing fields on the Norwegian continental shelf.
• The hydrocarbon reservoir formations are at depths of 2,500-3,000 metres and consist of Jurassic-era sandstones.
• As of the first 20 years of production, the field produced approximately 3.7 billion barrels of oil and 60 billion cubic metres of gas.
• By 2004, the field had produced four billion barrels of oil and 70 billion cubic metres of natural gas, generating more than NOK1,000 billion in revenues. The average production capacity was around 140,000 barrels per day (bpd).
• The field originally held around 9 billion barrels of crude oil.

Satellite Fields

The Statfjord field includes several satellite fields tied back to the Statfjord C platform:

• Statfjord Nord: Discovered in 1977, located about 22 kilometres north-east of Statfjord C, and developed with three subsea templates.
• Statfjord Øst: Discovered in 1977, began production on 23 September 1994, and lies five kilometres north-east of Statfjord C. It is equally split between production licences 037 in block 33/9 and 089 in block 34/7.
• Sygna: Tied back to the Statfjord C platform and started production in July 2000.

Operational History and Incidents

• A fire broke out on the Statfjord A platform in February 1978 during welding works, killing five people. Later in June 1978, a helicopter crash on its way to the oilfield resulted in 18 fatalities.
• A loading buoy, the world’s largest articulate loading platform (ALP), was mated to the Statfjord A platform in August 1978.
• In 2000, a hepatitis A outbreak affected nine workers at Statfjord C, and necessary precautions were taken to prevent further outbreaks.
• In 2013, an oil and gas leak was detected from Statfjord A, but no oil was spilled into the sea due to the drain system.

Ownership and Partners

The current licensees in the field include:

• Equinor (formerly Statoil) with a 44.337% interest.
• ExxonMobil with a 21.37% interest.
• Centrica with a 34.30% interest. Centrica acquired Shell’s 9.44% interest in 2010 and ConocoPhillips’s 15.17% interest in 2012.

Late Life Projects and Extensions

• The Statfjord late life project, part of the Tampen 2020 Project, aimed to increase recoverable volumes by 32 billion cubic metres of gas, 25 million barrels of oil, and 60 million barrels of condensate, and to extend production until 2025.
• In 2020, Equinor announced plans to extend production from Statfjord out to 2040 and to postpone the decommissioning of the first of the three main production facilities, Statfjord A, from 2022 until 2027.
• The Statfjord Ost Project, approved in 2020, aims to recover an additional 26 million barrels of oil equivalent in the Statfjord Ost area. This project started ahead of schedule in 2023 and involves drilling new wells and making modifications to the Statfjord C platform.

Production and Export

• Roughly four million cubic metres of gas are exported daily from the Statfjord Unit.
• The field produces light sweet crude, which is offloaded directly onto tankers. As of recent data, loadings of Statfjord crude are expected to average around 51,667 b/d.

Infrastructure and Facilities

• The platforms have concrete gravity base structures incorporating storage cells.
• The Tampen Link pipeline, constructed as part of the Tampen 2020 Project, connects Statfjord B to the Flags transport system, from where gas is exported to the UK.

Economic Impact

• The field has generated significant revenues, with over NOK1,000 billion in revenues during its first 25 years of production.
• The current extension projects are expected to add substantial value, with the Statfjord Ost Project alone estimated to equal around NOK 20 billion at current oil prices.