Value creation 1982–2012

Jan Erik Geirmo, BP

The Valhall field at the southernmost end of the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) was discovered in 1975 and came on stream in October 1982. Recoverable oil reserves were initially calculated to be 247 million barrels, with production expected to last for roughly 20 years.

— PRODUCTION FROM THE FIELD Source: The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate

Since 1982 until September 2015, more than 900 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) had been recovered from Valhall and the nearby Hod field. The latter is remotely operated from Valhall.

The estimated recovery factor when production began was some 12 per cent of the resources originally in place. That proportion has now risen to roughly 27 per cent.

Based on operator BP’s plans and opportunities, it can probably become about 40 per cent in the longer term. Plans call for Valhall to yield a further 500 million boe of oil and gas.

The field is in continuous development, and big investments have been made in modern technologies and new facilities. Constant drilling, water injection and gas lift are needed to recover as much of the oil and gas as possible.

A full-scale array for four-dimensional seismic surveying was installed on the seabed as early as 2003 to monitor the reservoir and wells.

Historically, the more petroleum has been produced from the field, the larger its identified resources have become. Oil and gas in the Valhall area are put today at about 3.3 billion boe.

Increasing the recovery factor to more than 40 per cent will call for technological innovation and efficiency improvements.

Gross investment from first production to September 2015 amounts to NOK 67 billion, while the gross value of oil and gas recovered from Valhall and Hod over the same period totals NOK 210 billion.

As many as 600 or so people have worked offshore on Valhall at peak periods in connection with redevelopment of the field, upgrading and connecting up new and existing platforms.

To accommodate these numbers, flotels (accommodation rigs) have been deployed on the field for long periods. The original quarters platform and the new process and hotel installation have also been fully occupied.

Up to 180 people will be employed on the field in normal operation from 2017. Work extending over a number of years to permanently plug old wells on Valhall’s original drilling platform is being carried out by a large jack-up rig with more than 100 people on board.

The largest units in the land-based organisation are involved in the operation of Valhall.

Many sub-contractors deliver goods and services to the field directly or indirectly. It is not unusual in the oil sector for the number of contractor personnel employed to exceed the operator company’s own direct workforce.