Shell takes FID on Norwegian gas compression project
Shell has taken a final investment decision (FID) on a wet gas subsea compression project at Norway's second largest gas field Ormen Lange, the company said on September 20.
The Anglo-Dutch major and its field partners have also submitted a plan for development and operation for the project to the Norwegian petroleum ministry. Using subsea compression, they hope to recover an extra 30-50bn m3 of gas and boost the overall recovery rate at Ormen Lange from 75 to 85%.
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It is the first time subsea compression has been used at a gas field without the use of a topside facility, Shell said.
"We are truly proud to take FID on a project which pushes technical boundaries, helping cement Norway's position as a global subsea industry hub," Shell Norske's managing director, Marianne Olsnes, commented. "Ormen Lange ranks among the lowest carbon intensity fields in Norway, being powered with hydro-generated electricity from the national grid and processed in a closed system at the Nyhamna gas plant."
The wet gas compressor system will be installed on the seabed at a depth of 900 m close to the field's wellheads, increasing gas flow from the reservoir to the wells. Shell noted that the 120-km distance between the installations and the shore set a new world record for subsea compression power step-out.
Ormen Lange flowed 11.9bn m3 of gas last year, making it Norway's biggest gas producer after Troll. Its gas is exported via the 1,200-km Langeled pipeline from Nyhamna to Easington in the UK, and then pumped through the Norwegian gas export system to continental Europe.
Shell operates Ormen Lange with a 17.8%, while Petoro has 36.4%, Equinor 25.3%, Ineos 14% and Var Energi 6.3%.