Volund

Location and Geology

• The Volund oil field is located in the central part of the North Sea, approximately 10 kilometres south of the Alvheim oil field, within Block 24/9.
• The water depth in the area ranges between 120-130 metres (395-425 feet).

Discovery and Development History

• The Volund oil field was originally discovered in 1993 as the "Grieg" prospect by Fina. However, development was postponed due to economic viability concerns at the time.
• In 2003, Marathon began exploring a nearby prospect named "Hamsun," which showed recoverable hydrocarbons. Further studies in 2004 revealed that Grieg and Hamsun were part of the same reservoir, leading to the formation of the Volund oil field.
• The plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in January 2007.

Reservoir Characteristics

• The Volund field reservoir is of Paleocene age, consisting of sandstone intrusions in the Hermod Formation that were remobilized and injected into the overlying Balder Formation in the early Eocene era. This forms a unique injectite trap.
• The reservoir is at a depth of approximately 2,000 metres (6,561 feet).

Production and Recovery

• Production from the Volund field began in September 2009, with regular production starting in April 2010. The field was developed with a subsea template including four horizontal subsea production wells and one water injection well tied to the Alvheim FPSO.
• The initial recoverable reserves were estimated at approximately 7.8 million cubic metres of oil and 1 billion cubic metres of gas. As of December 2011, the remaining recoverable reserves were 5.2 million cubic metres of oil and 0.8 billion cubic metres of gas.
• The field produces oil at a rate of about 24,000 barrels per day and gas at a rate of 0.19 billion cubic metres per year.

Production and Transportation

• The wellstream from the Volund field is routed by pipeline to the Alvheim FPSO. The oil is then offloaded to shuttle tankers, while the associated gas is transported via the Alvheim to Scottish Area Gas Evacuation (SAGE) pipeline system to St. Fergus in the United Kingdom.

Operators and Partners

• Marathon Petroleum Norge, a subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation, operates the field with a 65% working interest. Lundin Petroleum holds the remaining 35% stake.

Contractors and Infrastructure

• Acergy (now part of Subsea 7) was awarded a $140 million EPIC contract for the pipelay and construction work, including the installation of production, gas lift, and water injection pipelines, a control umbilical, and a production manifold.
• Other contractors involved include Technip for pipeline spools and manifold installations, and KWsubsea for pipeline and gas lift line installations.

Current Status

• The production from Volund is declining due to increasing water cut, despite the recoverable volume estimates being higher than initially predicted due to additional wells drilled on the field.

Additional Developments

• An additional subsea template was installed subsequent to the initial development, and an additional development well was planned to be drilled in the last quarter of 2012.
• In 2014, Marathon Oil announced the sale of its Norway business, including the Volund field, to Det Norske.