Record-breaking Visund Nord IOR project

The Visund Nord improved oil recovery (IOR) project came onstream on 2 September 2018, two months ahead of schedule, with no serious HSE incidents and well below budget, reports operator Equinor.

‘It took 21 months from the licence partners choosing the concept until production started. This is a new fast-track record for Equinor,’ according to Torger Rød, Senior Vice President for Project Development, Equinor.

Visund Nord IOR is a subsea development focused on simplification and standardisation. It comprises two new wells in a new subsea template, which is tied back to an existing template on Visund. The oil is piped via the existing infrastructure to the Visund platform.

The project provides 13.3mn new barrels of oil to the Visund field, 6% more than originally estimated. When the financial investment decision (FID) was made, the costs were estimated at NKr1.5bn ($0.18bn). However, during the execution phase they were reduced to NKr1.3bn, reports Equinor. ‘We are delivering well within the downward adjusted budget. The project has a competitive break-even price and will be profitable even with an oil price well below the current level,’ notes Project Director Tone Kristin Børslid.

Manifold installation at Visund Nord IOR project
Photos: Equinor