“We’re pleased that the Åsgard owners have given their go-ahead for the low-pressure project. The project will increase production from the current Smørbukk wells and contribute to achieve planned production from the field. We’re also awarding a contract to Aker Solutions which will provide valuable activity and help maintain jobs in a difficult time,” says Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s senior vice president for projects.

The Åsgard field in the Norwegian Sea started producing in 1999 and the transition to low-pressure production is important to secure improved recovery from the field.

“We can still produce 400-500 million barrels of oil equivalent from the field. This means value creation in the order of NOK 150 – 200 billion. The current recovery rate for the field is almost 50 percent, but our ambition is to extract 60 percent of the hydrocarbons in the reservoirs before the field will have to be shut down,” says Randi Hugdahl, vice president for Åsgard operations.

The selected concept is a modification of the platform to reduce inlet pressure by replacing the reinjection compressors and rebuilding parts of the processing facility.

Contract awarded to Aker Solutions
A FEED contract (front-end engineering and design) was awarded to Aker Solutions in December 2019 for modification work on Åsgard B in connection with the low-pressure project. The contract has now been expanded into an EPCI contract (engineering, procurement, construction, and installation).

The EPCI contract is valued at around NOK 800 million and will represent about 415 work-years and distributed over four years for the supplier. Project management and engineering will involve 240 work-years and be carried out at Aker Solutions’ office in Trondheim, while prefabrication will involve 45 work-years and take place at the yard in Egersund. The work will start immediately and is planned to continue through 2024.

More than 20 years have passed since the Åsgard B gas processing platform came on stream. Gas from Åsgard is piped through Åsgard Transport to Kårstø, north of Stavanger.  Overall, the installations at Åsgard have delivered more than 2.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent, with a gross value of more than NOK 1,000 billion.

Planned start-up of low-pressure production is in 2023.

Partners in the Åsgard licence: Equinor (operator) 34.57%, Petoro AS 35.69%, Vår Energi AS 22.06%, Total E&P Norge AS 7.68%.