ConocoPhillips has asked Norwegian regulators to approve its proposed Eldfisk North Project at the Greater Ekofisk Area in the North Sea.
Its affiliate and operator of the Area, ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS, submitted a plan for development and operation (PDO) for the Project to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
Eldfisk is already a producing field, utilising the Ekofisk Complex – a set of platforms and bridges on the central Ekofisk field. The Eldfisk North Project is targeting additional resources there, and the new greenfield project will be located about seven kilometres north of the Eldfisk Complex, ConocoPhillips said.
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“The development concept is a three-by-six slot subsea production system (SPS) with 14 wells, where nine are producers and five are water injectors. Eldfisk North will be tied back to the Eldfisk Complex in the North Sea,” ConocoPhillips said.
It estimates the resource potential to be in the range of 50-90 million barrels oil equivalent. The total capital investment associated with the project is estimated to be approximately NOK 10.5 billion (US$1.2 billion), and first production is expected in 2024. It estimates that the Project’s greenhouse gas emissions will be seven kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) per barrel oil equivalent.
“We are pleased to achieve yet another development milestone in the Greater Ekofisk Area. The Eldfisk North Project will utilise spare processing and transportation capacity in existing infrastructure, reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions intensity and increase resource recovery and value creation in the Eldfisk Field”, President of Europe, Middle East and North Africa at ConocoPhillips, Steinar Våge said.
The operator expects the project to generate, through awarded contracts, approximately 4,000 jobs.
It said, “More than 80 percent of the contracts’ value for both development and operations phases will go to Norwegian businesses. In sum, this will create beneficial ripple effects in many local communities.”
ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS is the operator of the Eldfisk Field in the PL 018 license, with a 35.112 percent ownership interest, while TotalEnergies EP Norge AS (39.896 %), Vår Energi AS (12.388 %), Equinor AS (7.604 %) and Petoro AS (5.000 %) are partners.
Norway is a mature oil producer often held as one of the better success stories of the oil and gas industry. While it is fully committed to the energy transition, Norway intends to produce oil and gas until 2050 and beyond.
