GUDRUN WAS OPENED

Statoil and Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg officially opened the Gudrun platform in the North Sea on Tuesday.

'This is the first new Statoil-operated platform on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) since Kristin in 2005,' wrote the company on its website.

According to the company, the platform has been put on stream on time and below the cost estimate of the plan for development and operation (PDO).

"Gudrun is a good example of how we manage to realize projects by combining new field developments with existing infrastructure. This is good value creation that helps maintain activity and extends the life of a wide range of offshore fields and facilities," said Statoil's chief executive Helge Lund.

Gudrun is an oil and gas field in production licence PL025, about 55 kilometres north of the Sleipner installations.

Statoil has combined a new field development with existing infrastructures. It is the first new Statoil-field in the Stavanger region since Sleipner in 1993, and it will be soon followed by similar projects.

"It's good to see a new field joining the old giants - Statfjord, Snorre and Sleipner. Later on, Gina Krog will also come to Operations South. This field will also be tied in to Sleipner - yet another win-win situation," Nylund commented.

The licensees in PL025 are Statoil (operator - 51%), GDF SUEZ E&P Norge (25%) and OMV Norge A/S (24%).

naturalgaseurope.com