Wintershall Dea starts Dvalin production drilling offshore Norway

STAVANGER - Wintershall Dea has begun drilling four production wells on the Dvalin gas field in the Norwegian Sea, getting ready for the start of production in 2020. Drilling of the production wells from the Transocean Arctic rig is expected to last approximately one year and follows an intense summer of activity around the Wintershall Dea operated Dvalin development. The Dvalin field will strengthen Wintershall Dea’s position as one of the largest gas exporters from Norway.

“Dvalin fits neatly into our strategy of supplying gas to the European market through fields and pipelines while ensuring we remain one of the most important gas producers on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It further demonstrates our capabilities as an efficient and capable operator,” said Alv Solheim, managing director of Wintershall Dea in Norway.

Since April, activity at the Dvalin field has included installation of pipelines and a manifold at 400 meters water depth. In August, a 3,500 ton processing module was completed and lifted on to the nearby Heidrun platform in preparation for receiving gas from the Dvalin field. The field is located 259 kilometers north of Kristiansund in mid Norway.

“A summer of activity topped off with the start of drilling on the key Dvalin project is a potent sign of the belief we have in Norway, and the resources we are prepared to invest to reach our ambitions. The Dvalin team has worked tirelessly from day one to deliver a smooth, timely, and most of all safe project to date”, said Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Dea chief technology officer.

Dvalin is being developed as a subsea field tied back to Heidrun, which lies some 15 kilometers to the northwest. The four wells will be drilled to a depth of around 4,500 meters.

The design philosophy for the wells has focused strongly on HSEQ, in line with the whole Dvalin project to date. The drilling team aims to maintain the project record of having no serious incidents.

About Dvalin

The Dvalin gas field in the Norwegian Sea is being developed with four subsea wells, tied back to the Equinor operated Heidrun host platform. The gas from Dvalin will be transported to the Heidrun platform via a 15 km pipeline. From there, it will be sent to the Polarled gas transportation system via a 7.5 km pipeline, before it will be further processed to dry gas at the Nyhamna onshore gas terminal. Finally, the gas will be transported via Gassled to the market.

• Partnership: Wintershall Dea (operator 55%), Petoro (35%), Edison (10%)

• Location: 259 km north of Kristiansund on the West coast of Norway, 15 km northwest of the Heidrun field and 35 km south of the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea.

• Water depth: 400 meters

• Estimated reserves: 113.3 MMboe

Development solution: A four-slot template has been installed on the seabed. Flow-lines and umbilical will be connected to the Heidrun platform, 15 km northwest of the Dvalin field. On the Heidrun platform, two modules, one 400 ton utility module and one 3,500 ton gas processing and compression module, have been installed.

As the third largest non-state operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf with a daily production of around 150,000 bopd, Wintershall Dea is aiming to further increase these volumes over the next years.

Wintershall Dea is owned by BASF (67 %) and LetterOne (33%). An initial public offering is envisaged in the medium term.