Ormen Lange tests new technology

摘要

Developing a 14.1-Tcf gas field is tough under the best circumstances, but an operator compounds the difficulty by achieving the feat in sub-Arctic waters with subsea wells and production moving across a rugged landscape to land and then through the world's longest subsea pipeline. Norsk Hydro, now part of StatoilHydro, delivered the USD10-billion Ormen Lange project to Shell for production after completing the infrastructure. Shell continues to drill wells in the 25- by 6-mile (40- by 10-km) field in the Norwegian Sea. At peak production, it will send 2.5 Bcf/d of gas and 50,000 b/d of condensate through pipelines to the Nyhamna shore base. There the condensate will be stripped for sale, and the gas will be separated from its glycol antifreeze solution and will enter the Langeled pipeline for a 745-mile (1,200-km) trip to Easington, UK.