Gullfaks oil field

Gullfaks is an oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea operated by Equinor. It was discovered in 1978, in block 34/10, at a water depth of 130-230 meters.[1] The initial recoverable reserve is 2.1 billion barrels (330×10^6 m3), and the remaining recoverable reserve in 2004 is 234 million barrels (37.2×10^6 m3). This oil field reached peak production in 2001 at 180,000 barrels per day (29,000 m3/d). It has satellite fields Gullfaks South, Rimfaks, Skinfaks and Gullveig.[2]

Gullfaks
Gullfaks A being completed in Stord
Gullfaks oil field is located in North Sea
Gullfaks oil field
Location of Gullfaks
CountryNorway
LocationNorth Sea
Block34/10
Offshore/onshoreoffshore
Coordinates61°12′54″N 2°16′48″E
OperatorEquinor
PartnersPetoro
Field history
Discovery1978
Start of production1986
Peak of production180,000 barrels per day (29,000 m3/d)
Peak year2001
Production
Current production of oil39,000 barrels per day (~1.9×10^6 t/a)
Year of current production of oil2013
Estimated oil in place73 million barrels (~1.0×10^7 t)
Petroleum production of Norway by year and oil field

Platforms

The project consists of three production platforms Gullfaks A (1986), Gullfaks B (1988), and Gullfaks C (1989).[1] Gullfaks C sits 217 metres (712 ft) below the waterline and the height of the total structure measured from the sea floor 380 metres (1,250 ft),[3] making it taller than the Eiffel Tower. Gullfaks C holds the record [4] of the heaviest object that has ever been moved to another position, relative to the surface of the Earth with a total displacement between 1.4 and 1.5 million tons.[5] The platform produces 250,000 barrels per day (40,000 m3/d) of oil. The Tordis field, which is located 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south east of Gullfaks C, has a subsea separation manifold installed in 2007 which is tied-back to the existing Gullfaks infrastructure.[6][2]

Gullfaks platform design data[7]
Installation Gullfaks A Gullfaks B Gullfaks C
Type Concrete gravity platform Concrete gravity platform Concrete gravity platform
Function Drilling, production, storage, accommodation Drilling, production, accommodation Drilling, production, accommodation
Location SW part of field NW part of field
Water depth, metres 135 142 216
Fabrication substructure Norwegian Contractors Stavanger Norwegian Contractors Stavanger Norwegian Contractors Stavanger
Topsides design Aker Engineering and Foster Wheeler Aker Engineering and Foster Wheeler
Substructure weight, tonnes 340,000 173,000 370,000
Topside weight, tonnes 40,000 25,000 49,000
Accommodation (crew) 330 160 300
Legs 4 3 4
Cells 24 19 24
Storage capacity, barrels 180,000 Nil
Well slots 42 42
Wells 21 production, 17 injection 20 production, 13 injection
Throughput oil, barrels per day (bpd) 245,000 150,000
Water injection, bpd 4 x 95,000 95,000
Platform installed 1986 1987 May 1989
Production start 1987 1988 January 1990
Oil production to 2 x SPM buoys (8,400 m3/hour) Gullfaks A
Gas production to Statfjord C Statfjord C

Incidents

Between November 2009 and May 2010 a well being drilled from Gullfaks C experienced multiple well control incidents which were investigated by Petroleum Safety Authority Norway and summarized in a report released on 19 November 2010. The report stated that only chance prevented the final and most serious incident on 19 May 2010 from becoming a full-scale disaster.[8]

Geology

The reservoir consists of delta sandstones from the Middle Jurassic Brent Group, shallow-marine Lower Jurassic Cook Formation sandstones, and the fluvial-channel and delta-plain Lower Jurassic Statfjord Formation.[1]

See also

References
  1. Petterson, O., Storli, A., Ljosland, E., Nygaard, O., Massie, I., and Carlsen, H., The Gullfaks Field, 1992, in Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade, 1978-1988, AAPG Memoir 54, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, ISBN 0891813330, pp. 429-446
  2. Statoil
  3. Structures
  4. "Heaviest man-made object moved".
  5. Lindberg, Björn. "How large is a troll?". INDUSTRIMINNE.NO.
  6. Amazing Structures, author Michael Pollard Page 34,35
  7. Oilfield Publications Limited (1985). The North Sea Platform Guide. Ledbury UK: Oilfield Publications Limited. pp. 276–83.
  8. "summary letter in English" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
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