Statoil has kicked off production from Smørbukk South Extension at the Åsgard field, two and a half years after the project was sanctioned.

Through a combination of wells with long well sections and new completion technology, oil and gas are now produced from a reservoir previously regarded as not feasible.

According to Statoil, the reserves in the Smørbukk South Extension project are estimated to be 16.5 million bbl oil equivalent and will contribute to the production from the Åsgard A FPSO in the times ahead.

The field was discovered in 1985, but due to low permeability, the volumes were regarded as not economical to develop. The hydrocarbons in the Smørbukk South Extension project are located in reservoirs with varying porosity ranging from “bricks to tiles”.

“This has been a world class challenge. Very few offshore fields have been developed with such low permeability under normal pressure conditions,” says asset owner representative, Ove Andre Pettersen.

The main solution for cracking the code with such tight reservoirs is to drill long horizontal reservoir sections. At Smørbukk South Extention a multilateral production well with approximately 5200 meter reservoir exposure has been drilled.

Utilizing the existing infrastructure at the Åsgard field has, according to Pettersen, been a precondition for the feasibility and profitability of the project.

“The project is delivered below the initial sanctioned cost estimate at sanctioning and exactly on the date of startup. The future of the NCS is to a large degree dependent on cost-efficient development of small but important projects like Smørbukk South Extention,” Pettersen concluded.