Oil&Gas: Gullfaks celebrating 25 years – with pride

Gullfaks is not just an oil field, but also an important symbol for the whole of Norway as an oil producing nation. It was the first field development carried out by Statoil from A to Z, and 80% of the suppliers were Norwegian.

- Gullfaks represented our baptism of fire as an oil company, Statoil writes.

Since its start-up Gullfaks has produced values totalling an inconceivable NOK 1100 billion. Twenty-five years ago, at exactly 03.00 on 22 December 1986, production started on Gullfaks A, the first of the three platforms installed at the field. This formed the basis for a number of great achievements in the following years.

 For the first time the working language was Norwegian. The licences were on Norwegian hands and the development was mainly carried out by Norwegian suppliers. 

When the Gullfaks C concrete structure was towed to the field it was the heaviest structure ever transported by sea. It weighed 1,500,000 tons. 

2.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (350 MSm3) have been recovered from the reservoir, which have given Statoil and Norway huge revenues. 

Gullfaks has proved to be excellent in improving the oil and gas recovery rates and has managed to increase the recovery rate from the planned 46% to the current 61%. The additional resources alone amount to two and a half times the Visund volume. 

A completely new type of cutting valves was developed for the Gullfaks wells as an additional well barrier. 

The Gullfaks organisation has developed a special type of drilling technology to tackle the reservoir which is large, complex and split up with unpredictable pressure conditions and shallow gas. 

The 2008 Gulltopp well was the world’s longest producing offshore well with a length of 9910 metres and a depth of 2500 metres. 

Gullfaks is one of the first fields to introduce wet gas compression on the seabed. Start-up in 2014/2015.

(Statoil)

Tuesday, 27 December 2011 07:44