Untapped value - time for the Yme field

Norwegian newcomer OKEA has become the latest operator looking for a low cost production solution, in this instance to redevelop the Yme field and recover its remaining 75MMBO.

The Yme field, located in the Egersund Basin, 100km off the coast of Norway, lies in water depths of 93m in blocks 9/2 and 9/5. Having been first discovered in 1986, it was low oil prices that first stopped production in 2001, when Statoil decided the production solution was no longer economic and abandoned the field, after recovering 50 million barrels of oil. Since taking over in 2006, issues with construction of the production facility itself have prevented Talisman from recovering what is a valuable asset.

However, OKEA, led by former Det Norske Oljeselskap boss Erik Haugane and former oil minister Ola Borten Moe, purchased Repsol’s 60% stake in the field last month. OKEA have since announced that they aim to unlock the resources from the YME field using a low cost development solution, echoing what we’re hearing from operators – that minimal, unattended facilities are the future not only of ‘small pools’ but ever larger fields. There is a growing recognition that the term marginal fields now encompasses a far greater range of assets than previously thought.

OKEA envisage submitting a development plan to the authorities later in 2016, with targeted start-up in 2018 – it will be interesting to see what they decide.