Aker BP, Aker Solutions and Subsea 7 marked the start-up of production work on the first of three seabed installations  for the Skarv Satellite Project  in Aker Solutions’ workshop halls in Sandnessjøen.

The milestone was celebrated alongside a number of employees from operator Aker BP and partners in the Subsea Alliance (Aker Solutions and Subsea 7), and from the Modification Alliance (Aker BP and Aker Solutions). The Modification Alliance will be carrying out comprehensive modifications on the Skarv production vessel so it can receive production from the satellite developments.

Stimulus package in practice

The Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for the three Aker BP-operated developments was submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in December of last year, and was approved this past June.

The Skarv Satellite Project has high profitability and will secure an extended lifetime for the Skarv production vessel. The project is also a direct response to the stimulus package adopted by the Storting (Norwegian parliament) three years ago. The objective was to ensure activity, preserve jobs, promote competence and skills and further develop the industry during a period characterised by the pandemic, record-low oil prices and a sharp decline in investments.

The event at Aker Solutions in Sandnessjøen on Tuesday means full steam ahead on construction of the large subsea structures for the satellite fields around Skarv. The event was also a recognition of the good start for the Modification Alliance on the pre-fabrication work at Aker Solutions in Sandnessjøen and Mosjøen. Significant parts of the engineering and construction work are also being carried out in the Helgeland region in Nordland County.

Largest development in the Norwegian Sea

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The Skarv Satellite Project (SSP) is by far the largest development in the Norwegian Sea in recent years, and comprises the Alve Nord, Idun Nord and Ørn gas and condensate discoveries. Each of the developments consists of a subsea template with four well slots and two wells which are tied back to the Skarv production vessel (FPSO) located in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea.

Total investments are estimated at nearly 17 billion 2022-kroner. Recoverable resources in the three developments are around 120 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), mainly gas. Production start is planned for the third quarter of 2027.

Development of the three discoveries is coordinated by a unified project team in an effort to reduce costs through shared infrastructure, and to extract synergies across the deliveries.

Ripple effects

Aker BP is using the company’s alliance model in the implementation phase, including the Subsea Alliance with Aker Solutions and Subsea 7, and the Modification Alliance with Aker Solutions.

Norwegian suppliers are expected to deliver around 60 per cent of the investments.

The huge subsea manifolds are visible examples of what’s being built at Aker Solutions’ yard in Sandnessjøen. Another goal for the project is to use local subcontractors as much as possible, and increase regional impact in Helgeland.

The regional deliveries to the Skarv Satellite Project are also the result of long-term planning and the building of expertise in the area, including the good deliveries to the recent Ærfugl project.

Gas to Europe

The Skarv Satellite Project is getting underway more than ten years after production started from the Skarv field. During this decade, Skarv has been a reliable supplier of oil and, not least, gas to Europe, and is now producing around 22 million standard cubic metres of gas and around 25,000 barrels of condensate every single day.

Skarv has also generated significant values for the Norwegian society and for the partners, not least the considerable ripple effects it has created along the entire Helgeland coast.

Now, Skarv is looking towards the future, to 2040. Development and production from the Skarv satellites is crucial for success. Production from these three developments will have low CO2 emissions at around 4.5 kg per barrel. After start-up, they will account for around 60 per cent of Aker BP’s net production from the Skarv area for several years.

The SSP development is also paving the way for future developments in the area linked to new discoveries, which can contribute to long-term high production from Skarv FPSO.