Statoil moving quick on new oil field development

PARIS, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Two engineering companies servicing the oil and gas sector said they were awarded contracts to help develop a Norwegian oil field with energy major Statoil.

An alliance between FMC Technologies, an American provider of equipment and services for the energy industry, and Technip, a French engineering company, said they received a contract to help with the construction and installation of the infrastructure necessary to help develop the Trestakk field in the Norwegian Sea.

Technip Chairman and CEO Thierry Pilenko said business strategies align closely with development plans unveiled this week by Statoil.

"Through earlier and broader vision on projects, we can simplify subsea field architectures and thus help our clients to significantly improve project economics," he said in a statement.

No contractual terms were unveiled.

Statoil this week submitted a plan for development to Petroleum Minister Tord Lien for the Trestakk discovery. Confirmed in 1986, the discovery holds about 76 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent, and most of that exists as oil.

Estimates for Trestakk development were originally around $1.2 billion, though Statoil said the latest assessment was about half that amount.

Statoil said production from Trestakk is slated to begin in 2019. The project will be tied in to production infrastructure already in place in the Norwegian Sea.

Norway is a lead exporter of oil and gas to Europe.