Visund

Visund Oil and Gas Field Profile

Location

The Visund oil and gas field is located in the northern part of the North Sea, approximately 22 kilometres northeast of the Gullfaks field in the Tampen area. It is situated in blocks 34/8 and 34/7, roughly 140 kilometres west of Sogne Fjord, Norway.

Discovery and Production

Visund was discovered in 1986. The plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 1996, and production started on 21 April 1999. Gas exports began on 7 October 2005.

Field Development

The Visund field is developed using a semi-submersible steel drilling, production, and quarters (PDQ) platform. This platform is connected to a subsea completion system and is located directly above the subsea completed wells. The platform is 121 meters long, 95 meters wide, with a height to the upper deck of 27 meters and to the lower deck of 20 meters. It has a draught of 21 meters and a displacement of 52,600 tons.

The field includes several subsea templates, such as the Visund North template and the Visund South subsea template. The Visund North template is linked to the Visund platform via a 10-kilometer pipeline, and the Visund South template is linked to Gullfaks C via another 10-kilometer pipeline. Visund South came on stream in November 2012, followed by Visund North in November 2013.

Reservoirs

The Visund field produces oil and gas from sandstone reservoirs of Late Triassic and Early Jurassic age in the Lunde Formation and Statfjord Group, and of Middle Jurassic age in the Brent Group. The reservoirs are in several tilted fault blocks with varying pressure and liquid systems, located at depths of 2900-3000 meters. The reservoir quality is generally good in the main reservoirs.

Wells and Production Strategy

A total of 24 wells were drilled in the vicinity of the platform, including 14 oil producers, two water injectors, six gas injectors, and one gas producer, with two spare slots. Additional wells were drilled 8 kilometers to the north-east. The field is mainly produced by pressure depletion, and partly with pressure support from water injection. Gas injection was used in some segments but was terminated in 2021 due to increased gas export.

Production and Reserves

The expected recovery from Visund is around 65 billion cubic meters of gas, 8.3 million tonnes of NGL (Natural Gas Liquids), and 45 million cubic meters of oil, including the Visund North and Visund South areas. The overall reserves in the field are estimated at 304 million barrels of oil and 51 billion cubic meters of gas.

Transport and Export

The oil is transported by pipeline to the Gullfaks A facility for storage and export via tankers. The gas is exported through the Kvitebjørn Gas Pipeline and then processed at the Kollsnes terminal, where NGL is separated, and the dry gas is further exported to European markets. The Visund South production is processed and exported along with the Gullfaks volumes.

Ownership and Operation

The Visund field is operated by Equinor Energy AS, with the following ownership stakes:

• Equinor Energy AS: 53.2%
• Petoro AS: 30%
• ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS: 9.1%
• Repsol Norge AS (previously Total E&P Norge): 7.7%.

Current Status and Future Outlook

As of 2023, oil production has been lower than expected due to delays in drilling and technical problems with several existing wells. New production wells are being continuously drilled, some with exploration targets. The strategy for the Visund field is to maintain reservoir pressure within drilling limits and optimize oil recovery while increasing gas exports. Production is expected to continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2042, based on economic assumptions.

Infrastructure and Facilities

The Visund platform has processing facilities with a design capacity of 16,000 cubic meters per day of oil and 28,000 cubic meters per day of liquid. It also has a water-injection capacity of 18,000 cubic meters per day and a gas production capacity of 18 million cubic meters per day.

In summary, the Visund oil and gas field is a significant production asset in the North Sea, characterized by its complex reservoir conditions, advanced subsea and platform infrastructure, and ongoing efforts to optimize hydrocarbon recovery.