Shell said it has decided to go with subsea compression as a concept for the Ormen Lange Phase 3 to increase the recovery rate from the reservoir.
Shell will develop the third phase of its giant Norwegian gas field Ormen Lange with a subsea compression system, the oil major said in a statement on Friday.
The company will either choose Schlumberger's Onesubsea or TechnipFMC to do the work, it said, adding that it would take a decision later in 2019.
“This is an important choice, where we have evaluated a number of alternative concepts. Subsea compression will result in a significant increase in what is possible to produce from Norway’s second largest gas field, by reducing the pressure near the wellheads. We have managed to reduce costs by more than 50 per cent compared to the first time we considered offshore compression for Ormen Lange. This demonstrates that it was a right decision to stop the project in 2014 and look at all opportunities again,” says Rich Denny, CEO of A / S Norske Shell.
“We have worked closely with suppliers and partners with a focus on optimizing work volume, costs, safety, environment, and using learning from similar projects. This has resulted in a number of competitive alternatives, such as unmanned platform solutions and several subsea concepts,” says Arne Dahle, project manager at Shell.
