Equinor Canada confirms plans for a summer 2024 exploration drilling program for its Bay du Nord oil project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, company spokesperson Alex Collins said on August 14.
Equinor exploration program supported by the Hercules platform
A contract has been awarded for the Hercules semi-submersible drilling rig to carry out an exploration drilling program. Collins said in an e-mail announcement. Adding that the platform is owned by SFL Corp. and managed by Odfjell Drilling. The program, which will focus on the Sitka prospect, includes an option for an additional well. Both located in the Flemish Pass basin,” she said. The exploration program is scheduled to begin operations in the second quarter of 2024. It will support Equinor’s continued optimization of the North Bay project development,” said Collins.
The Hercules is a sixth-generation semi-submersible deepwater drilling platform capable of operating in water depths of close to 3,000 meters. Its robust hull design makes it capable of operating in harsh winters. And the strong winds off eastern Canada,” she said. Noting that this will be Equinor’s third campaign with the current mobile offshore drilling unit.
At the end of May, Equinor Canada stated in a press release that it was postponing its 200,000 b/d-Northern Bay development project for three years, citing as the main reason “improving the robustness of the project in the face of difficult market conditions”.
“We will use this postponement to actively mature Bay du Nord into a successful development,” said the release, quoting Tore Loseth, National Director of Equinor Canada.
In recent months, largely due to market volatility, the Bay du Nord project has seen significant cost increases in many aspects of the development, the statement said without giving a figure. Located 320 miles northeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland It is located in St. John’s in the Flemish Channel basin, at a depth of around 1,170 meters. Bay du Nord is set to be Canada’s first deepwater project. According to Paul Barnes, Director of Atlantic Canada and the Arctic for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
Remote Development: Equinor Oil Project
In particular, today’s announcement is a reiteration of Equinor’s intention to develop this mega project,” he added. At the center of the planned remote development will be a floating, production, storage and offloading facility with an estimated area of 300 million barrels of crude oil, said Barnes.
“Equinor has already conducted multiple exploratory drilling programs in various prospects that will support the Bay du Nord project, and Sikta will be another prospect where they aim to share additional resources,” said Barnes.
Terra Nova FPSO moves to site Meanwhile, the floating production, storage and offloading vessel serving Terra Nova – another offshore oil field in Newfoundland – is being “towed to site as we speak”. After carrying out extensive repairs and overhaul activities to increase its lifespan, Barnes said. “… the field (should) resume production by the end of the year,” he said.
“The Terra Nova field was scheduled to restart production in March 2023 after a complete overhaul of the FPSO, which was carried out at a marine facility in Spain and at the Bull Arm shipyard in Newfoundland,” said Barnes.
The offshore field (located 320 km (200 miles) southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland) is the largest of its kind in the world. St. John’s on the Grand Banks). It could potentially increase production to around 30,000 b/d since start-up. Noting that Terra Nova production has been closed since 2019. Terra Nova operator Suncor Energy was not immediately available for comment.
However, Suncor’s East Coast Vice President, Brent Miller, said at Energy NL’s 2023 Conference & Expo in St. John’s, Newfoundland, that the company’s “focus is on the future. St. John’s. At the end of May, dockside work was underway at Bull Arm for the FPSO. Adding that the next steps would be a reconnection to the production platform and the first oil followed by a ramp-up.
There are currently four main oil fields, Hibernia, Hebron, Terra Nova and White Rose, which account for the province’s total offshore oil production. That’s 204,445 b/d, said the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board in its latest update on July 26.
