Vigdis

Vigdis Oil and Gas Field Profile

Location

The Vigdis oil and gas field is located in the Tampen area of the northern North Sea, Norway. Specifically, it is situated between the Snorre, Statfjord, and Gullfaks fields, in block 34/7 (PL 089), with a water depth of approximately 280 meters (or 1,059 feet).

Coordinates

The exact coordinates of the field are 61.367° N, 2.0859° E (WGS 84).

Discovery and Development

• The Vigdis field was discovered in 1986.
• The plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 1994.
• Production from the field began in 1997.

Field Structure

The Vigdis field comprises four main structures:

• Vigdis Brent
• Borg Nordvest
• Vigdis Øst-Nordøst
• Lomre

The Vigdis Brent structure includes several substructures. The field has been developed with seven subsea templates and two satellite wells connected to the Snorre A facility.

Reservoirs

The oil in the Vigdis field is produced from sandstone reservoirs in several geological groups:

• The reservoirs in Vigdis Brent and Lomre are in the Middle Jurassic Brent Group.
• The reservoirs in Vigdis Øst-Nordøst are in the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic Statfjord Group.
• The Borg Nordvest reservoir is in Upper Jurassic intra-Draupne sandstone. The reservoirs are at depths of 2200-2600 meters and generally have good quality.

Recovery Strategy

The field is produced using pressure support through water injection. Some of the reservoirs are affected by pressure depletion from the Statfjord field. To enhance recovery, a subsea booster pump was installed in 2020. New infill wells are planned for the coming years, and 4D seismic data acquired in 2021 may lead to additional drilling targets.

Production and Transport

• The well stream from Vigdis is routed to Snorre A through two flowlines.
• Stabilized oil is transported by pipeline from Snorre A to Gullfaks A for storage and export.
• All produced gas from Vigdis is reinjected into the Snorre reservoir.

Production Statistics

• Original Recoverable Reserves:
  • Oil: 472.8 million barrels
  • Gas: 1710 million cubic meters
• Remaining Reserves (as of 2020):
  • Oil: 67.11 million barrels
  • Gas: 0 million cubic meters (indicating that the gas reserves have been largely depleted)
• Cumulative Production (as of 2022):
  • Oil: 419.03 million barrels
  • Gas: 1922.66 million cubic meters
  • NGL: 15.77 million barrels
• Annual Production (2022):
  • Oil: 8.34 million barrels per year
  • Gas and NGL: Essentially zero, as the gas reserves are depleted and NGL production is negligible.

Ownership and Operation

The Vigdis field is operated by Equinor Energy AS. The ownership structure includes:

• Equinor Energy AS (41.5%)
• Petoro AS (30.0%)
• Vår Energi AS (16.1%)
• Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS (9.6%)
• Wintershall DEA Norge AS (2.8%).

Future Plans

• Expected production startup for the Lomre structure is in 2024.
• New infill wells are planned, and additional drilling targets may be identified from the 4D seismic data acquired in 2021.

Economic Projections

Based on economic assumptions, production from the Vigdis field is expected to continue until it reaches its economic limit around 2030. As of the last update, the field had recovered approximately 95.05% of its total recoverable reserves, with peak production occurring in 1999.