StatoilHydro Recognized for Ormen Lange Challenge

OTC will present StatoilHydro with its Distinguished Achievement Award on May 6 for StatoilHydro's expert handling of the development of the Ormen Lange subsea-to-shore project.

The 2008 OTC Distinguished Achievement Award for Companies, Organizations and Institutions has been awarded to StatoilHydro for its development of the challenging Ormen Lange field. Located 120 kilometers northwest of the More coast, Mid-Norway, development of the Ormen Lange gas/condensate field presented a number of problems. With production starting in October 2007, StatoilHyrdo overcame these challenges to develop Norway's deepest and largest offshore field in the country's history.

One of the biggest challenges facing development of the field was its location: deep waters, rough terrain and a hazardous environment. With water depths ranging between 800 and 1,100 meters, all of the pipelines and installations for Ormen Lange had to be built on an extremely steep and uneven sea floor. The Norwegian Sea in that area also has strong opposing currents, frequently extreme wind and wave conditions and sub-zero water temperatures. All of these factors made it crucial for StatoilHydro to ensure careful planning in order to complete the project successfully.

Suspicions that hydrocarbons were present in the most northerly parts of the North Sea drove StatoilHydro to explore the area, despite scoffers throughout the Norwegian oil industry. Beginning exploration in the late 1980s, StatoilHydro never let up hope of finding hydrocarbons in the area. After drilling test wells closer to shore that turned up dry, in 1997 the exploratory operator hit a gas layer deep within the sandstone.

Ten years after the initial confirmation of gas and condensate, the field came on-stream in October 2007. With no visible installation on the surface of the water, the field will reach production rates of 70 million cubic meters of gas per day in as little as two years. After processing in Norway, the gas will travel through a 1,200-kilometer pipeline to the east coast of the United Kingdom.

The Ormen Lange field is one of the largest gas fields developed in Norway. Recoverable gas reserves are estimated to be about 397 billion cubic meters, which would allow the field to produce for nearly 40 years at its peak production rates.

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