Statoil’s Gullfaks B platform and associated pipelines will now operate until 30 June 2036 after receiving a consent for use from Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA).

PSA’s existing consent for the platform – which was installed in July 1987 and started operations in February 1988 – was set to expire next month. Statoil filed for an extension to extract remaining resources from the Gullfaks field, PSA said in a 20 June press statement.

PSA said it gave consent based on Statoil’s documentation of assessments, which conclude that the facility can continue to be operated safely and responsibly and in compliance with regulatory requirements.

The consent application covers:

• Gullfaks B
• 12in oil/gas pipeline from Gullfaks B to Gullfaks C
• 8in gas pipeline from Gullfaks B to Gullfaks A
• 16in flexible oil pipeline from Gullfaks B to Gullfaks A
• 20in water injection pipeline from Gullfaks A to Gullfaks B (not operational, preserved)

Statoil is operator of the Gullfaks field, located in Block 43/10 at Tampen in the northern North Sea. Gullfaks has been developed using three integrated processing, drilling and accommodation facilities with concrete jackets and steel decks, Gullfaks A, B and C.

Earlier this year, Statoil said a discovery it made while drilling from the Gullfaks C platform could contain between 1-3 MMcum of recoverable oil equivalent.

Source: www.oedigital.com