Statoil squeezing more gas out of North Sea

STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil said it may be able to boost recovery rates from the Gullfaks gas field in the North Sea using a novel cost-effective solution.

Statoil and its partners at the Gullfaks field in the North Sea started what they said was the first wet gas compression process on the seabed. Subsea compression gives companies more maneuverability in terms of gas processing and above-ground infrastructure.

When testing the process in mid-2015, Statoil said the compression method could extend the production plateau at Gullfaks by about two years.

"The recovery rate from the Gullfaks South Brent reservoir may be increased from 62 percent to 74 percent by applying this solution in combination with other measures," Kjetil Hove, a senior vice president for the operations at Statoil, said in a statement.

Statoil said it already has measures in place to reach a 50 percent recovery rate.

Statoil submitted production plans to the government in July for early-stage developments at the Gullfaks region in the North Sea, which the company said could add another 18 million barrels of oil equivalent to net Norwegian production.

Subsea compression could add another 22 million barrels of oil equivalent to Gullfaks output.

Norway is among the leaders in gas production and deliveries to the European economy.