Page 59: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Dec/Jan 2013)

58 60

Arctic

Polar Pioneer

Transocean’s semisubmersible facility was used to drill on Skrugard in the Barents Sea and is lined up to support Shell’s potential 2014 drilling campaign in the Chukchi Sea. Image: Harald Pettersen, Statoil.

to come on stream. It will be the frst says, with projects taking 10-25 years to

Norwegian Barents Sea oil development, be brought onstream. Budgets have also produced through a subsea development been extended, by factors of two to three, connected to a Sevan foating production and even four, of the original plan.

system. Prirazlomnoye, for example, was

Goliat was due to be followed by the budgeted at under US$1 billion in 1996.

Barents Sea Johan Castberg development, The fnal cost is about US$4 billion, four previously known as Skrugard – Havis. times higher than the original estimate,

Operator Statoil recently said it was Nachaev says. “This is not unique,” he Polar Pioneer submersible during drilling delaying its investment decision, setting says, pointing to delays and cost over-

Photo: Harald Pettersen, Statoil. on Skrugard. likely frst production back from 2018 to runs offshore Norway.

in 2014. Last month [November], the 2020, Utskot says. “Most arctic felds take about 40 company submitted revisions to its In the Russian sector, the Shtokman years to get to production,” says Utskot, previously approved exploration plan, project has been repeatedly set back, due including dates for some early Canadian in order to “keep the company’s 2014 to low gas prices. Statoil pulled out of the onshore developments. Norman Wells, exploration options viable.” project in 2012. onshore Canada, took 64 years from dis-

ExxonMobil, in partnership with covery, in 1921, to production. Offshore,

Delays

Rosneft, plans to drill in the Kara Sea in Snøhvit took 23 years from discovery to the summer of 2014, Utskot says. Cairn All arctic projects, on- and offshore, frst production, Goliat will have taken

Energy, with joint venture partners, endure huge delays in all phases, from 14 years when it comes onstream next has yet to determine (as of press time) exploration to commissioning, Nachaev year, while Shtokman, if it comes online whether the Pitu prospect will be drilled in 2014.

Discovery to production dates and estimates of onshore and offshore arctic developments, presented by Geir Utskot, Schlumberger.

Development

Start Start Discovery to

Currently, there are four groups of

Country Field Discovery development production production projects being developed in the arctic,

Canada Norman Wells 1921 19801985 64

Nachaev says. 1980

Canada Ben Horn 1974 1985 11

These are: the Snøhvit (Snow White) 2023 2027

Canada Amauligak 1984 43 feld in the Barents Sea; felds devel-

Norway Snøhvit 1984 2002 2007 23 oped through inclined drilling in Russia;

Norway Goliat 2000 2012 2014 14

Prirazlomnoye, in the Pechora Sea, Russia;

Norway Skrugard/Havis 20112016 2020 9 and felds in north Alaska, also developed 2016 2022

Russia Shtokman 1988 34 through inclined drilling. Of those, only

Russia Bovanenkovskoye 1971 2008 2012 41

Snøhvit, a 140km subsea tieback to shore,

Russia Tambeyskoye 1974 20112018 44 and Prirazlomnoe are offshore. *Italic numbers are estimates

Next year, ENI’s Goliat oil feld is due oedigital.com December 2013 | OE 61 060_OE1213_Arctic3.indd 61 11/22/13 4:45 PM