Norwegian oil giant Statoil ASA (STO) along with its partners has brought the Valemon gas and condensate field in the North Sea online.
The field is estimated to hold recoverable reserves of 192 million barrels of oil equivalent. Valemon is one of the many new projects on the Norwegian continental shelf that will enhance value and activity, validating the long-term outlook that distinguishes Statoil’s activity in the area.
Valemon is a high-pressure, high-temperature field. The total investment in the Valemon field development project is likely to be NOK 22.6 billion after all the wells have been drilled. The platform will then have 10 production wells.
Valemon represents the second Statoil-operated platform to be commissioned in the last nine months as well as the first new platform to be operated from Bergen since Kvitebjorn was brought on stream a decade ago.
Once the drilling is completed on the field in 2017, Valemon will become Statoil’s first platform remotely controlled from shore, turning into a normally unmanned platform.
Condensate from Valemon will be transported to Kvitebjorn for treatment, and then to Mongstadand from where the gas will be shipped to Heimdal for processing and then finally it will be transferred to the market.
The commissioning of Valemon has extended Heimdal’s tenure as a gas hub in this part of the North Sea. Heimdal was scheduled to be shut down in 2014.
Valemon’s development costs have been reduced due to the utilization of the existing facilities at Kvitebjorn and Heimdal, as well as the existing pipelines.
The Valemon topside, which was built in South Korea, represents the first topsides EPC contract (engineering, procurement and construction) for Statoil in Asia. Moreover, 80 of the 120 mechanical equipment packages for platform are being provided by Norwegian suppliers.
Statoil operates the field with an ownership of 53.77%. Other partners are Petoro AS, Centrica Resources and A/S Norske Shell holding 30%, 13% and 3.23%, respectively.
Currently, Statoil carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Investors could consider better-ranked stocks like Spectra Energy Partners, LP (SEP), Seadrill Partners LLC (SDLP) and QEP Midstream Partners, LP (QEPM), all of which sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment