Norway petroleum and energy minister – Tord Lien has officially opened the Valemon gas and condensate field in the North Sea today. Expected recoverable reserves from the field are 192 million barrels of oil equivalent.
“Valemon is one of several new projects on the Norwegian continental shelf that contribute to value creation, activity and innovation,” says Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for Development & Production Norway.
“The field does not only provide jobs and spinoffs in virtue of its own operation, Valemon is also extending the life of surrounding installations.”
This is the first new Bergen-operated platform since Kvitebjørn was put on stream 10 years ago.
Condensate from Valemon will be piped to Kvitebjørn for processing and then forwarded to Mongstad, while the gas will be transported to Heimdal for processing and then sent to the market.
“Valemon is thereby extending the life of Heimdal, which was scheduled to be shut down in 2014, as a gas hub in this part of the North Sea,” says Nylund.
By using existing facilities on Kvitebjørn and Heimdal, as well as existing pipelines, the Valemon field development costs have furthermore been reduced.
The Valemon topside was constructed in South Korea. This is the first time Statoil has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a topside to an Asian shipyard.
The platform has a high percentage of Norwegian suppliers, as 80 of 120 mechanical equipment packages have been delivered by Norwegian suppliers.
The South Korean shipyard and a competitive Norwegian supplier industry have, in cooperation with a competent project organization, ensured that production starts on time and with excellent HSE results,” says Margareth Øvrum, executive vice president for Technology, Projects & Drilling.