Norske Shell and its partners have decided to postpone work on offshore compression for the Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea.

Since 2008 the licensees had been working on a life extension program involving either subsea compression or compression from a new TLP.  

“The decision to stop ongoing work is based on an updated economic assessment that includes new cost information on current concepts and updated reservoir analysis,” said management committee chairman Odin Estensen.

“Current concepts for offshore compression for Ormen Lange are not profitable. The updated reservoir analysis also shows that offshore compression is not time-critical for recovery from the Ormen Lange field.”  
Estensen added that the partners would continue to focus on “maximizing recovery from the field in a sustainable manner. More knowledge will be accessible from both the reservoir and technology in the coming years and will form the basis for evaluating new compression options.”

Norske Shell operates in partnership with Petoro, Statoil, DONG Energy, and ExxonMobil.