Outlook for one of Norway's biggest oil fields improves

Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Most of the metrics, from the expected price of oil to break even to the resource range, have improved at one Norway's most promising fields, partners said.

Norwegian operator Statoil, which holds a majority share in the Johan Sverdrup partnership, revealed the resource range has been updated slightly, from 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent to 3.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Phase 1 of the field's development is currently underway and about 70 percent completed. All told, Johan Sverdrup could represent a quarter of total Norwegian production and first deliveries from the field are expected to begin in late 2019.

Lundin Petroleum, which holds a minority share, added that the cost to break even is now around $20 per barrel, a 20 percent reduction from the previous guidance. The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, was around $67 per barrel early Wednesday.

For costs, the first phase of development was lowered 4 percent to $11.2 billion. Since the initial plans for development and operation were proposed, phase 1 costs for Johan Sverdrup are down 30 percent.

"We've drilled more wells than planned, more than one year ahead of plan, which has contributed greatly to cost reductions in the project," Margareth Øvrum, an executive vice president for drilling at Statoil, said in a statement.

The first phase of production could peak at around 440,000 barrels of oil per day. Phase 2 production, which is expected by 2022, could push total capacity to 660,000 bpd.

Statoil said it plans to submit its initial plan for development and operation for phase 2 to Norwegian regulators in the second half of this year.

The total field is expected to stay in production for about 50 years.

Apart from Russia, Norway is the top oil and natural gas supplier for the European economy, putting nearly all of its offshore production on the export market. Total production last year, including preliminary figures from December, was 37.7 million barrels of oil equivalent higher than 2016.