Hanz, which has total reserves of around 20 million barrels of oil equivalent, has been developed via a tieback to the Aker BP-operated Ivar Aasen platform, situated nearly 15km further south, on the Utsira High
The Hanz oil and gas field has been developed through a subsea tieback to the Ivar Aasen platform. (Credit: Aker BP)
Aker BP has started production from the Hanz oil and gas field located in licence 028 B in the Norwegian North Sea.
The company and its partners Equinor and Sval Energy took a decision to move ahead with the project in December 2021 with an initial investment of NOK3.3bn ($300m). However, the total investments for the project are currently estimated to be around NOK5bn ($454m).
Hanz has been developed through a tieback to the Ivar Aasen platform, situated nearly 15km further south, on the Utsira High. The Ivar Aasen field, which is operated by Aker BP, has been producing since late 2016.
Aker BP is also the operator of the Hanz oil and gas field with a 35% stake. Equinor and Sval Energy hold stakes of 50% and 15%, respectively.
The total reserves of the offshore Norwegian field are about 20 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe). Located in a water depth of 115m, the Hanz field was discovered in 1997.
Aker BP CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik said: “This is yet another great example of what we can achieve working as one team with our suppliers towards a common goal and with shared incentives. In addition, innovative solutions with reuse of infrastructure and use of cross-flow well have contributed to lower costs and lower emissions.
“Development of the Hanz discovery is important for the development of the Ivar Aasen area. Production start from Hanz in 2024 will help us maintain good production from the Ivar Aasen platform.”
Following the delivery of the plan for development and operation (PDO) for the Ivar Aasen area, which encompassed the Hanz development, the project progressed by adopting an optimised development solution through the reuse of subsea production systems (SPS) from the Jette field.
This marks the first instance of production equipment being repurposed in a new field development on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
Furthermore, the strategy for oil and gas recovery was revised to incorporate the utilisation of a cross-flow well for water injection. This change leads to significant reductions in power consumption, decreased chemical usage, and fewer seabed equipment requirements, said Aker BP.
Projects Edvard Grieg and Ivar Aasen VP Stine Kongshaug McIntosh said: “This development solution will be more cost-efficient and have a smaller environmental footprint than originally planned for. This is in line with Aker BP’s continuous search for improvements, where the goal is to produce with low costs and low emissions.”