The Statfjord Satellites: Challenges and Experiences During Development and Production Startup

Abstract

Summary Production from the Statfjord Øst field was started up as planned and the project was completed within the overall budget. This paper reviews the handling of the more significant problems that were encountered during the development phase and gives a summary of the initial experiences after production startup. After a description of the Statfjord satellite fields, the paper gives a résumé of the major tasks encountered during the development of these fields. The extensive modifications to the Statfjord C platform required by this project were performed while the platform was producing at its maximum capacity. Manning level and control of hot-work were two major issues in this context. In addition, the project team was able to add the necessary subsea equipment to ensure timely startup of gas production at Sleipner to the scope of the project. Two areas of environmental concern are described: (1) the reduction of flaring during well testing and (2) the containment of CO2 emissions as power consumption on the platform was increased. Production from the two fields started in September 1994 and January 1995, respectively. After an initial running-in phase of a few weeks, production was very stable. The final challenge to overcome to start production was the need to get an agreement to reduce the continuous high production at Statfjord C to provide processing capacity for the Statfjord satellites.