The start of production from the Yme field in accordance with the adopted schedule is yet another step, following this year’s application in the APA 2021 licensing round and the harmonisation of interests in the NOAKA project, which confirms the consistent development of LOTOS’ upstream activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The total resource potential of the field is approximately 63 million barrels of oil. For LOTOS’ 20% interest, this represents a potential of over 12.5 million barrels.
The Yme field was discovered in 1987. It is located in the North Sea, about 130 km off the coast of Norway. The field’s operator by Repsol Norge, with LOTOS Norge holding a 20% operating interest in the project. The Yme development project is a brownfield investment, involving both the re-use of existing infrastructure and the design and construction of new facilities. The investment was made possible thanks to the application of new technologies and innovations that enabled the project to take off even in the face of the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I believe that this investment will be beneficial not only for our company, but also for the whole Polish economy. Moreover, effective management of resources in different locations is another element of diversification and increasing national energy security,” said Jarosław Wróbel, Vice President of Grupa LOTOS Management Board, Investments and Innovation.
The Yme project is being implemented under a new plan for development and operations, approved in March 2018. At the end of 2020, a milestone for timely completion of the work was reached. The Maersk Inspirer platform, which will be used to support production from the field, was towed from the Egrsund shipyard, where conversion work on the platform had been carried out, and was successfully placed on the field. Over the course of 2021, the offshore start-up phase, involving the tie-in and commissioning of production systems, was under way. Another significant milestone was reached in August 2021 when the operator received regulatory approval to start production from the Yme field, using the Maersk Inspirer platform.
Concurrently, in May 2021, the operator entered into a number of conditional agreements with Maersk Drilling, Havila Sirius and other entities. Their performance will lead to Repsol taking over responsibility for the permanent operation of the Maersk Inspirer platform and to a change in its ownership.
To date, as part of a consortium, LOTOS Norge has produced natural gas and condensate from fields located in the Heimdal and Sleipner areas at an average rate of approximately 13 thousand boe/day per LOTOS’ interest. At the same time, efforts designed to develop new deposits in Norway are underway.
rel. Lotos SA