Statoil Extends Pioneering CO2 Injection Project

The Songa Enabler drilling rig has started drilling a new injection well for CO2 gas on the Snøhvit field off the coast of Hammerfest, Norway - the only LNG project in the world capturing and storing CO2 separated from the well stream in a dedicated formation offshore.

The project involves the capture of 650,000 tons of CO2 per year from the feed gas, equivalent to the emission from 400 000 cars. So far more than four million tonnes of CO2 from Snøhvit have been stored. The stored CO2 is being monitored in order to ensure that it does not mix with the main producing reservoir, but a new CO2 injection well is now required.

The CO2 solution project was established in 2013 in order to build and install a new CO2 injection well, replacing the original injector that over time would leak CO2 into the gas reservoir.  

In the summer of 2015, an extensive marine campaign was performed. Pipelines and a template for the CO2 project were installed and tied in to the existing subsea facility on the Snøhvit field.  

After the new CO2 injector is installed, the rig will move on to drill the first new production well at Snøhvit since the field came on stream in 2007. The drilling campaign is planned to last until Christmas.

Snøhvit is the first major development on the Norwegian continental shelf with no surface installations. The subsea production facilities stand on the seabed, in water depths of 250-345 metres. The seabed facilities are designed to be over-trawlable, so that neither they nor fishing equipment will suffer any damage from coming into contact.

The Snøhvit field has an annual capacity of 4.2 million tons of LNG. This output is transported to land through a 143-kilometre (108-mile) pipeline. The field has enough gas reserves to maintain production until 2055.

Snøhvit is the first offshore development in the Barents Sea. The project involves bringing natural gas to land for liquefaction and export from the first plant of its kind in Europe and the world’s northernmost liquefied natural gas facility.

The next big development step for Hammerfest LNG is the development of the Askeladd field, which is part of the plan for development and operation of the Snøhvit licence. It is expected to come on stream in 2020/2021. 

A total of 20 wells are due to produce gas from the Snøhvit, Askeladd and Albatross fields.