Extending Valhall's lifetime with well plugging

Plugging of wells at the Valhall field centre has been completed six years earlier and more than five billion Norwegian kroner cheaper than originally planned.

News provided by

Aker BP ASA

Apr 19, 2021, 03:37 ET

TRONDHEIM, Norway, April 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Plugging wells is a key part of the modernisation of the Valhall field centre, and thus also in the ambition to produce a total of two billion barrels from the giant in the North Sea.

The Maersk Invincible drilling rig left the Valhall field centre this week. That marked the end of several years of plugging operations on the field. A total of 30 old wells from the original drilling platform (DP) have been plugged over the course of three campaigns since 2014.

Originally Aker BP estimated the operational time of the plugging campaigns to 10 years at a cost of NOK 15.5 billion. The work was completed in 4 years and at a cost of NOK 10.1 billion.

"Plugging wells from the shutdown drilling platform is an important part of the Valhall modernisation. There are considerable remaining resources in the Valhall area, and our vision is to produce from the field up to 2050. We will maximise value creation from the area through new wells, flank developments and new technology," says Valhall Asset Manager Ole Johan Molvig.

Aker BP is operator and Pandion partner in Valhall. First oil flowed from the field in 1982.