With oil prices still wobbling around $50, Norway is in danger of a recession that could drive its benchmark interest rates, already at a record low, to zero. That’s what economists at Continue Reading
Norwegian energy company Statoil boosts recovery at key North Sea natural gas field by installing new compressors on the Troll A Platform, pictured. Statoil photo by Øyvind Hagen STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 22 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said boosting recovery rates at a North Sea natural gas field is a win for European energy security. The installation of two new compressors at the Troll A platform in the North Sea will increase recovery by as much as 2.9 trillion cubic feet. Vidar Helgesen, a Norwegian diplomat serving as the minister for European affairs, said the European energy market is undergoing an overhaul in terms of climate and competition. "Stable and competitive gas deliveries from the Norwegian continental shelf play a key role along these two axes," he said in a statement. "Higher production and flexibility from the Troll field is therefore good news to both Norway and Europe." […]
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Norwegian Petroleum Directorate Norwegian petroleum and other liquids production, which had been declining since 2001, increased in 2014 and will likely continue increasing in 2015. The production growth in 2014 was mainly the result of new fields coming online, but also included a small increase in output from existing fields. Production has continued to grow in the first half of 2015 and is expected to remain relatively stable over the next few years as growth from new fields balances declines from older fields. Petroleum development projects in the North Sea generally have long lead times, meaning that production from a new field occurs several years after the decision to develop that field. These lead times often increase for projects that are farther north or far from existing infrastructure. The decisions to develop many of the fields now coming online in Norway occurred […]
Photo Norway has become a global model for how to persuade the public to embrace electric vehicles. Above, a Tesla S parked near a police horse stable. Credit Thomas Haugersveen for The New York Times OSLO — Berit Nordgarden and her husband, Eivind Tellefsen, loved their nonpolluting Nissan Leaf electric car . But they found its 85-mile battery life too short for weekend trips to their cottage with their two young children. So the outdoorsy couple took a deep breath and bought a second car: a Tesla Model S luxury sedan with three times the battery range, the best of any electric car on the market. Buying an $87,000 car was a stretch, requiring them to refinance their primary residence, a cozy wooden home in Oslo. But the Tesla would have been completely out of reach — costing perhaps double the price — without generous subsidies and incentives that […]
Statoil awards more contracts to help build the giant offshore Johan Sverdrup oil field. Photo courtesy of Harald Pettersen/Statoil STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 15 (UPI) — Statoil announced more contracts were rolling out for the Johan Sverdrup oil field offshore Norway ahead of the 2019 start of production. Statoil, working on behalf of the consortium managing the Johan Sverdrup oil field, awarded Norwegian contractor Aibel with a $74 million contract to lay electricity cables from the shore for field development. "Aibel has already been awarded the contract for construction of the deck for the drilling platform on Johan Sverdrup," the Norwegian company said in a statement. "This contract is the last of the three major contracts covering the land-based power supply project." Statoil and its partners at Johan Sverdrup, Maersk Oil and Lundin Petroleum, in early 2014 outlined the development plan for the field using multiple phases. The company said […]
Norwegian energy company Statoil says subsea processing steps will increase gas recovery from the North Sea. Photo courtesy of Statoil STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 12 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said it may be able to boost recovery rates from the Gullfaks gas field in the North Sea using a novel cost-effective solution. Statoil and its partners at the Gullfaks field in the North Sea started what they said was the first wet gas compression process on the seabed. Subsea compression gives companies more maneuverability in terms of gas processing and above-ground infrastructure. When testing the process in mid-2015, Statoil said the compression method could extend the production plateau at Gullfaks by about two years. "The recovery rate from the Gullfaks South Brent reservoir may be increased from 62 percent to 74 percent by applying this solution in combination with other measures," Kjetil Hove, a senior vice president for […]
Statoil reports that its Gullfaks gas compression project is now in operation in the North Sea. Statoil ASA reported Monday that it has started operating its second gas compression system at the Gullfaks area in the Norwegian North Sea. This latest project follows on from Statoil putting the world’s first subsea gas compression plant online at the Åsgard field in the Norwegian Sea in mid-September. Gullfaks subsea gas compression will increase recovery from the Gullfaks South Brent reservoir by approximately 22 million barrels of oil equivalent. Compression is a way to get fields to produce more oil or gas for longer as the natural pressure in a reservoir drops. Until now compression plants have been installed on platforms or onshore, but this new facility is under almost 1,000 feet of water. In addition to improving recovery Statoil’s models show that subsea gas compression will be more energy efficient than […]
Norway’s bond market is feeling the squeeze and the country’s regional banks are the main victims. Companies and banks seeking to raise debt are finding few willing investors out there, after life insurance companies filled up on bonds and real estate before the summer this year and as the plunging krone is keeping away foreign investors, according to DNB ASA, Norway’s largest lender. “Many investors have been rather fully invested,” said Jan Krogh-Vennemo, global head fixed income sales at DNB. “When spreads first start widening buyers become cautious and there were some issuers, especially within finance, that were ready after the summer and needed money.” The squeeze is mainly being felt for Norwegian savings banks. Spreads on five-year senior unsecured bank funding widened by 17 basis points last week to 105 basis points, the highest since February 2013, according to DNB. Sparebank 1 SMN, for example, paid 105 basis […]
Norwegian energy company Statoil completes last stretch of Polarled pipeline for European gas needs. Map courtesy of Statoil STAVANGER, Norway, Sept. 29 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said the last stretch of a 300-mile natural gas pipeline crossing the Arctic Circle has been completed. The final piece of the 36-inch diameter Polarled gas pipeline was placed more than 4,000 feet below the surface of the Norwegian Sea in the Aasta Hansteen field. "With this pipeline, we open up for the export of gas to Europe from a completely new area, and with the infrastructure in place it will also be more attractive to explore the area," Statoil project planner Torger Rod said in a statement. Aasta Hansteen is estimated to hold between 175 billion and 300 billion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, making it one of the largest fields in the region. Once it starts, an onshore […]
