The newly formed exploration and production (E&P) company Vår Energi  is progressing the redevelopment of the Balder and Ringhorne area offshore Norway and a FEED contract for the Jotun FPSO life extension has now been signed with Aker Solutions.

In total, about 20 billion NOK (USD 2.3bln)  will be invested in the redevelopment of the area, which includes the first NCS license area, PL 001 from 1965, said the largest independent E&P company on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Part of the redevelopment, is the Balder X Project. For Balder X, Vår Energi has signed a letter of award regarding the front end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the lifetime extension of the Jotun vessel towards 2045.

The contract, with an estimated value of more than 100 million NOK, was won by Aker Solutions in competition with other suppliers. The main objective of the FEED study is to detail the scope of work required to extend the life of the Jotun floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel in the North Sea.

In addition, several other key contracts are planned in the Balder X Project, such as engineering procurement construction and installation (EPCI) for the Jotun FPSO, subsea production system (SPS), and subsea umbilical, risers and flowline (SURF). The contracts are expected to be tendered and awarded in the first half of 2019.

The redevelopment of the Vår Energi-operated fields Balder and Ringhorne entails major, future project activities such as extending the lifetime of the Jotun FPSO towards 2045; extending the life of the Balder FPSO towards 2030; drilling of 15 new production wells in the Balder field area and 11 new production wells in the Ringhorne field area.

Total redevelopment investments of the Balder and Ringhorne fields are estimated to 20 billion NOK, of which 15 billion NOK is related to the Balder X Project. A revised Plan for development and operation (PDO) for the Balder X Project is planned to be submitted in fourth quarter 2019.

“This contract marks the first milestone for operated development in Vår Energi. With ambitions to grow, we see major opportunities in Norway, and I am proud that the oldest license area on the NCS, the Balder field, continues to create value and provide job opportunities for future generations”, says Kristin F. Kragseth, CEO in Vår Energi.

The Jotun FPSO will be disconnected from its present location offshore, brought to shore for a scheduled one year yard-stay. After the yard-stay, the Jotun FPSO will be reinstalled in the Balder field, with planned start-up in 2021. These activities will take place while ordinary production is continuing at the Balder and Ringhorne fields.

Vår Energi has reserves and resources of more than 1,250 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mboe), targeting development of about 500 Mboe.

The Balder X Project is a key enabler towards this growth plan. Our aim is to optimize future production, and our geoscientists have mapped the entire Balder and Ringhorne area. This has contributed to prove additional resources of about 170 million barrels of oil, net to Vår Energi. In addition, there is a potential to further increase the recovery rate after an exploration program, planned to start in the latter part of 2019.

Vår Energi AS is the result of the merger of Point Resources AS and Eni Norge AS in late 2018. Vår Energi is jointly owned by Italy based energy company Eni (69.6 percent) and Norway based leading private equity investor HitecVision (30.4 percent).