Will spend 12.5 billion on the Tommeliten field – E24

On Monday, Minister of Petroleum and Energy Marte Mjøs Persen received a plan for development and operation (PDO) for Tommeliten A in the North Sea.

The plan was given by the operator Conocophillips and the partners Vår Energi, PGNIG and TotalEnergies.

The total investments for the project are estimated at around NOK 12.5 billion and production is expected to start in 2024. This is stated in a press release.

In a impact assessment presented in May, the investments were estimated at around NOK 13 billion.

– Very happy

– I am very happy to see that the licensees have found a good development solution for Tommeliten A. The project utilizes existing infrastructure which contributes to good resource utilization and high value creation, says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Marte Mjøs Persen (Labor) in a statement.

Development and operation of the field is expected to provide about 5,000 man-years in total over the lifetime, with the greatest need for labor in the first five years.

– I want to further develop the Norwegian petroleum industry. Development of profitable discoveries is important for maintaining activity on the Norwegian continental shelf and in the supplier industry. It is therefore very gratifying to receive the development plan for Tommeliten A, knowing that the project will bring ripple effects and income to the community, says Persen.

Found in 1977

The thumb Alpha discovery was made in 1977. It is a gas and condensate field southwest of the North Sea. Twice before, the development of the discovery has been stopped by concept selection, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

The American oil company ConocoPhillips is the operator with an ownership share of 28.26 percent. Partners are PGNiG Upstream Norway with an ownership share of 42.38 percent, TotalEnergies EP Norway with a share of 20.23 percent and Vår Energi with 9.13 percent.

The resources are estimated at 125 million recoverable barrels of oil equivalents, of which gas accounted for three quarters.

The plan is to expand the field with a subsea facility, which will be connected to infrastructure on the Ekofisk field.

– First, costs have come down significantly through the use of Norwegian subsea technology, standardized subsea technology that has become very competitive. Where platform concepts have previously been used, we have reduced the cost quite significantly by using subsea technology, says operations director at Ekofisk, Jan-Arne Johansen.

– The second is capacity to receive the gas, process it and transport it further to the Ekofisk center. Previously, there was also capacity, but now the capacity is even more available, so it does not have any consequences for production from other fields, he says to E24.

Johansen describes the profitability of the project as “very good”, and refers to a break-even price of less than 30 dollars per barrel of oil equivalent.

Three quarters of the resources are gas, while the rest is condensate.

Climate emissions «below average»

According to Johansen, the field will have climate emissions of around six kilos per barrel, which he says is “a carbon footprint that is below the average on the Norwegian shelf”.

The plans for the development are handed in while world leaders are gathered at the climate summit in Glasgow to try to reduce emissions. At the same time, Europe is in the middle of an energy crisis, with sky-high prices for gas and electricity, among other things.

– We now see a partial energy crisis and prices that have consequences for both food production and other negative consequences. Having a stable energy supply in the most environmentally friendly way possible requires that oil and gas also have a place for many years, says Johansen.

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