Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.

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Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
Insisting that oil in the
                  giant Troll field should be
                  developed has created
                  hundreds of billions of
                  kroner in added value.
                  A special report tells the tale.

A J O U R N A L F R O M T H E N O R W E G I A N P E T R O L EU M D I R E CTO R AT E         N O 2 - 2 012
                                                                                      2-2012 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 1
Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
NORWEGIAN
                                                                                                                                                Mid-life crisis? No way!
                                                                                                             CONTINENTAL
                                                                                                                SHELF                                       Experience with the Norwegian model shows that dialogue
                                                                                                                                                            and objective arguments yield the best solutions overall.

                                                                                                                                                “Life begins at 40,” they say –        licences and companies, which             best solutions overall.
                                                                                                              A JOURNAL FROM THE                either as a form of consolation or     calls for a little flexibility and            Since offshore operations
                                                                                                                                                because a 40-year-old knows how        patience. We’re still not satisfied.      began on the NCS, legislation and
                                                                                                             NORWEGIAN PETROLEUM                to enjoy life. At the NPD, our aim          Some jobs demand more pati-          systems have also improved, so
                                                                                                                  DIRECTORATE                   is another four decades of profes-     ence than others. A case in point         that the companies themselves
                                                                                                                  NO 2 - 2012                   sional strength and playing a key      is Troll. This giant North Sea field      must study all possible solutions
                                                                                                                                                role.                                  guarantees long-term gas sup-             before plans for development and
             12                                                                       Photo: Bjørn Rasen
                                                                                                                                                     When the Storting (parlia-        plies to European customers, but          operation are approved.
                                                                                                                                                ment) voted to establish us 40         posed a problem in the form of a              Almost 40 per cent of petro-
              4                             30                            34                               VOLUME 9 - 2                         years ago, few people could have       “thin” oil layer which few people         leum production on the NCS in
                                                                                                           RESPONSIBLE PUBLISHER                predicted what followed – and          felt was worth producing.                 2030 is expected to derive from
                                                                                                           Norwegian Petroleum Directorate      how long Norway’s oil adventure             That oil created controversy         discoveries yet to be made. And
                                                                                                           P O Box 600                          would last. They’ve both almost        and confrontation. Today, 30              how high will that output be 40
                                                                                                           NO-4003 Stavanger                    certainly exceeded every expecta-      years later, the companies and            years from now? Norway will still
                                                                                                           Norway                               tion. And it’s not over yet.           Norwegian society are still reaping       be producing from the North,
                                                                                                           Telephone: +47 51 87 60 00                The latest White Paper on the     the rewards of an oil deposit             Norwegian and Barents Seas in
                                                                                                           Telefax: +47 51 55 15 71             petroleum industry emphasised          worth hundreds of billions of             2050.
                                                                                                           E-mail: postboks@npd.no              a long-term perspective. Its main      kroner.                                       We will continue to play an
                                                                                                                                                points were an increased com-               This issue recalls the history of    important role, so that our expe-
                                                                                                           EDITORIAL TEAM
                                                                                                                                                mitment to recovery from produ-        Troll and its oil to illustrate why all   rience and knowledge can also
                                                                                                           Bjørn Rasen, editor
                                                                                                                                                cing fields, bringing discoveries      opportunities must be thoroughly          be applied to recovering these
             CONTENTS                                                                                      Bente Bergøy Miljeteig, journalist
                                                                                                           Eldbjørg Vaage Melberg,
                                                                                                                                                on stream, exploration in familiar     studied before development work           resources to society’s benefit.
                                                                                                                                                regions and making provision           begins.
                                                                                                           communications advisor
                                                                                                                                                to open new areas. There’s a lot            Another case of much-increased
                                                                                                           Rolf E Gooderham - English editor
             The interview: Taking the long view.............................. 4                                                                to do, and we’ll have plenty of        value creation is the decision to
                                                                                                           PRODUCTION                           meaningful assignments to fill our     inject water into the huge Ekofisk
             Celebrating 40th anniversary............................................ 11                   Arne Bjørøen - graphic production    working days.                          reservoir further south on the
                                                                                                           Printer: Gunnarshaug Trykkeri AS          Together with the Petroleum       NCS. That has turned Norway’s
             On the spot: Challenging achievement........................ 12                               Paper: Arctic Volume 200/130 g       Safety Authority Norway – our          first producing oil field into
             Science studies: Classroom caverns.............................. 28                           Print run Norwegian: 9 000           former safety division, hived off      another adventure which will last
                                                                                                           Print run English: 2 000             from us in 2004, and thereby an        several more decades.
             There and back again......................................................... 30              LAYOUT/DESIGN                        important part of our history – we          And even more examples
                                                                                                                                                work tirelessly to maximise the        are to be found to show how
             Rock shot: Getting down and dirty................................ 33                          Art director Klas Jønsson
                                                                                                                                                value of the resources on the NCS      long-term thinking and planning
             Going green............................................................................ 34    SUBSCRIPTIONS
                                                                                                           norsksokkel@npd.no
                                                                                                                                                in a safe and environmentally          beyond the boundaries of a single
                                                                                                                                                acceptable manner.                     field boost the returns for every-
             Disappointed on land.......................................................... 38             Free of charge                            If we go back a decade, to our    one involved.
                                                                                                                                                30th anniversary, we were sharply           Norway’s success as an oil
             Shaken, but not stirred....................................................... 43             NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL
                                                                                                           SHELF                                critical of the oil companies for      nation has not been achieved by
             Trying it all together............................................................. 46        on the web: www.npd.no               lacking a long-term view. Their        the government compelling the
                                                                                                                                                attention focused on short-term        companies to adopt measures.
             New way to get the facts................................................... 48                FOLLOW US ON TWITTER                 projects and quick returns. We         Experience with the “Norwegian
                                                                                                           www.twitter/oljedir                  saw insufficient willingness to col-   model” shows that dialogue and                     Bente Nyland
                                                                                                           FRONT COVER                          laborate across production             objective arguments yield the                      director general
                                                                                                           The NPD was created 40 years ago.
                                                                                                           (Illustration: Emile Ashley)

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Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
THE INTERVIEW

                                                                                                        NPD     40         YEARS

                                  Taking the long view
                                  NPD veteran Steinar Njå is convinced that the perspective
                                  analyses are the most important documents the directorate
                                  has ever produced. These looked 30 years ahead to provide
                                  politicians and others with pointers to what might happen
                                  on the NCS.
                                  | Bjørn Rasen
                                    Photos: Emile Ashley

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Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
production platform on Ekofisk.
                                                                                                                                     A later assignment on the
                                                                                                                                 same North Sea field was to check
                       I was called to an interview in Oslo during February 1973.                                                reports of overflaring. Mr Njå
                                                                                                                                 found that operator Phillips could
                                                                                                                                 cut the amount flared by 25 per
                                                                                                                                 cent with simple technical steps.
                                                                                                                                     Finding ways to avoid unne-
                                                                                                                                 cessary wastage of associated gas
             Bjartmar Gjerde, the then petro-     fields such as Kristin and Johan       Sintef research institutes contri-      through flaring was to develop
             leum and energy minister, almost     Sverdrup. [See the interview in        buted to the work by developing         into one of his core jobs at the
             jumped out of his chair over the     NCS 1-2012 at www.npd.no.]             ever more advanced calculation          NPD.
             high resource estimates when he           The Skånland commission on        and analysis tools.
             saw the first perspective analysis   the pace of NCS development in              But the oil companies were         Role
             in the autumn of 1981.               the early 1980s was charged with       generally reluctant to release          Finding its own role in relation
                  Requirements for fabrication    proposing measures to manage           what they regarded as “commer-          not only to the petroleum indus-
             capacity and engineers were          offshore operations which optimi-      cial secrets” when the NPD asked        try but also to other government
             much higher than originally          sed their social benefit.              them for information.                   agencies was important for the
             expected. But when the back-              This body needed more than             The exception was an Ameri-        new directorate during its early
             ground was explained to him, Mr      geological reports, and requested      can at Esso. During a visit to the      years.
             Gjerde grasped that he had acqui-    a more overall assessment of the       NPD, he was initially negative but           The fire and lifeboat accident
             red the management tool needed       likely level of future activities on   left behind a folder which              on Ekofisk Alpha in 1975, when
             to conduct an aggressive and         the NCS.                               contained all the necessary data.       several people died, and the
             integrated national oil policy.           According to Mr Njå, it was                                               Ekofisk Bravo blowout in 1977
                  Mr Njå believes that the time   common practice at the time to         Science                                 contributed to the shaping of the       Perspective analyses were important for the NPD in the 1980s, and were
             has now come to reveal that the      leave the preparation of such          After a childhood divided be-           NPD’s early safety philosophy.          carried out by multidisciplinary teams. The people behind the very first
             NPD employed a little trickery in    scenarios and development tra-         tween farm work, schooling and               These incidents laid a founda-     analysis were (from left) Steinar Njå, Jan Riddervold, Odd-Erik Hansgaard,
             order to get its the new analyses    jectories to consultants. The result   outdoor activities, Mr Njå studied      tion for the idea that a regulator      resource management director Farouk Al-Kasim, Steinar Marøy, Hans Christen
             in front of the minister.            was often reports which few            sciences at high school in Bryne        should not check everything the         Rønnevik, Øystein Kristiansen and Per Tønnesen. (Photo: NPD archive)
                  The bureaucrats at the          understood and even fewer learnt       south of Stavanger.                     companies did, but rather approve
             Ministry of Petroleum and Energy     anything from.                              He wrote a project essay on        the plans and safety systems they                                                   That provided the back-
             (MPE) thought they had a good             “Raised as I was on a farm, I     oil refineries, having accidently       created.                                Underestimated                         ground for establishing a new
             enough overview, and were not        knew that you learn best from the      come across a brochure on the                Many people participated in        Mr Njå believes that the role play-    programme for IOR and reservoir
             enthusiastic about the NPD’s idea    things you do yourself,” Mr Njå        Esso facility at Slagentangen on        the discussions and process of          ed by many of his NPD colleagues       technology in Norway, known
             for perspective analyses. No need    observes. “And I was not alone         the Oslo Fjord.                         maturing which ended up in the          in Norwegian oil history has been      as Spor from the initials of its
             to burden the minister with such-    with that view in the NPD.                  So it was only natural that he     Norwegian self-regulation prin-         underestimated, and cites Sigurd       Norwegian name.
             like, they maintained                     “So we set to work on our         majored in chemistry at Bergen          ciple.                                  Heiberg as an example.                      Mr Njå personally chaired the
                  So Farouk Al-Kasim, the NPD’s   own account, using Mr Rønnevik’s       technical college with subsequent            This puts the onus on the               He sounded the alarm about        executive committee for this pro-
             director of resource management,     overviews. Tore Bjordal, Odd           studies in chemical technology at       companies to document their             seabed subsidence on Ekofisk           gramme, and the NPD received
             proposed that the analysis be        Raustein, Øystein Kristiansen and      South Dakota School of Mines &          health, safety and environmen-          without winning much attention,        NOK 100 million for five years to
             submitted instead to the Ministry    myself were largely responsible        Technology in Rapid City, USA.          tal performance, secure official        and played a key role in getting       establish and execute Spor.
             of Local Government and Labour.      for the first analyses.”                    His first job as a chemical        approval and be responsible for         the companies to adopt gas injec-           Pursued in collaboration
                  When the MPE’s mandarins             Updated information on finds,     engineer was to be responsible          meeting the standards set.              tion for improving recovery.           with Rogaland Research, Sintef,
             heard that the other ministry was    development solutions, steel           for products on a ship manufac-              ”Magne Ognedal became                   Together with Tor Lund, Mr        the Continental Shelf Institute
             interested, they gave way at once    prices, water depths and wells         turing herring oil off Africa’s west    head of the production section of       Heiberg also took the initiative       (IKU) and the Institute for Energy
             and awarded the NPD a hearing        were used to outline what various      coast.                                  the control department in 1976,”        on the Kalk project – the first        Technology (IKU), work concen-
             with the minister.                   decisions could mean in terms of            After a brief interlude selling    recalls Njå. “I feel he played the      research programme where the           trated on water and gas injection
                  Mr Gjerde understood the        investment, output and jobs.           valves to the oil industry, he saw      main role in getting self-regulati-     NPD and research institutes col-       for IOR and on achieving better
             value of the analyses, which              These were key parameters         that the recently created NPD           on systematised and adopted.”           laborated directly with the oil        reservoir understanding.
             became a fixed part of the NPD’s     for the politicians, who wanted        was advertising for people in late           The Alexander L Kielland disas-    companies.                                  Results from some of its stu-
             annual routine and were much         the biggest possible value crea-       1972.                                   ter in 1980, when 123 people died            The goal was to improve reco-     dies were applied on the Ekofisk
             used when its staff spoke at the     tion on the NCS while ensuring              “I was called to an interview in   because this flotel capsized, pro-      very from chalk reservoirs on the      field as the basis for the major
             opening or conclusion of various     that activity was not high enough      Oslo the following February and         ved the great milestone in safety       Danish continental shelf and from      waterflooding project pursued
             conferences.                         to damage the mainland econo-          met Dag Meyer-Hansen. When              work on the NCS.                        the Ekofisk and Valhall fields on      there.
                                                  my.                                    we went out for a beer together              During the Bravo blowout, Mr       the NCS.                                    The Spor programme was
             Systematise                               A general feature was that        afterwards, I understood that the       Njå was one of the first to arrive           “We also had a good collab-       ably headed by Anna Inger Eide
             The early beginnings of the          both activity and production turned    job was mine.                           at the Tanager operations centre        oration with the British, not least    from the NPD, Mr Njå says, and
             perspective analyses go back to      out to be much higher than Mr Njå           “That’s because Dag asked          outside Stavanger. He was fol-          where reporting was concerned,”        its findings eventually attracted
             1978-79, when work began to          and his colleagues estimated in        me to pay for the drinks. He’d for-     lowed by government ministers           says Mr Njå. “They’d developed         international attention.
             coordinate and systematise seis-     their analyses. Yet the politicians    gotten his wallet, and said he’d        and the world’s press.                  their own production reporting
             mic data from various parts of the   often claimed that the estimates       pay me back when we met again                “Most people presented this        system (PPRS), which we were           Recovery
             NCS in order to produce updated      must be too high.                      in Stavanger.”                          incident as a great environmental       allowed to copy.                       The NPD made it clear at an early
             reports of the overall potential.         “In our initial analyses,              Mr Njå joined the NPD on 25        disaster,” he notes. “It was a little        “Later, we were invited to par-   stage that recovery from the huge
                 That work was initiated by       however, we also predicted that        May 1973 as employee number             odd to discover afterwards that         ticipate in an improved oil reco-      Ekofisk area should be substanti-
             Hans Christen Rønnevik, an NPD       investment on the NCS would            27. After a trip to Malta to learn      most of the oil evaporated and          very (IOR) programme they’d set        ally higher than the first estimates
             geologist who has gone on to         have ceased by 1998-99,” Mr Njå        about the oil business, his first job   that the blowout in practice cau-       up for their own oil fields, since     of 17-19 per cent of the oil origi-
             become well known as an explo-       also recalls.                          on the NCS was to check mete-           sed no demonstrable negative            we were running a similar project      nally in place.
             ration manager with a key role in         The Christian Michelsen and       ring systems aboard the Gulftide        effects of any significance.”           in Norway.”                                 Everyone agreed that pressure

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Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
As everyone knows, the outcome of this waterflooding
                                                                                                                                  proved surprisingly good.

                                                                                                                         support was the answer, but dis-       and other agencies all now bene-            This marked the start of a
                                                                                                                         agreement prevailed initially on       fit from this database, which is       long and interesting period when
                                                                                                                         whether this should be provided        also used as a model by a growing      Mr Njå worked on improving
                                                                                                                         by natural gas, nitrogen or air.       number of oil producers when           Russia’s resource management
                                                                                                                              Water was out of the question     creating such facilities.              system, particularly within orga-
                                                                                                                         at first because experience from             “I’ve personally followed this   nisation and economic assess-
                                                                                                                         the nearby Valhall field showed        work closely in Nigeria, and know      ments.
                                                                                                                         that it converted this chalk reser-    what a high priority is assigned to         He maintains that the NPD
                                                                                                                         voir into an impermeable, tooth-       it,” observes Mr Njå.                  represented a good model for
                                                                                                                         paste-like substance.                                                         the new and modern petro-
                                                                                                                              When it became clear that         Flaring                                leum administration required by
                                                                                                                         Valhall and Ekofisk chalk have dif-    He has worked a great deal on          Norway’s giant neighbour to the
                                                                                                                         fering porosities, however, Phillips   IOR and flaring, both nationally       east.
                                                                                                                         tested water injection in the USA      and internationally. The NPD has            Frequent visits mean that he
                                                                                                                         and found it appeared to have a        been very restrictive from a early     is now very familiar with both
                                                                                                                         good effect.                           stage in permitting gas to be fla-     federal and regional governments
                                                                                                                              Despite these encouraging         red on the NCS.                        in Russia. His travels have covered
                                                                                                                         results, the company was not                When Statfjord was due to         most of its regions.
                                                                                                                         immediately ready to take the          come on stream in November                  “Getting to know the Russians
                                                                                                                         risk of full-scale water injection     1979, the equipment for injecting      better was incredibly interesting,”
                                                                                                                         when it was not certain about the      gas had not been installed.            he reports. “Like most other Nor-
                                                                                                                         outcome.                               Operator Mobil applied for a per-      wegians, I imagined that they had
                                                                                                                              Phillips wanted compensa-         mit to flare the gas until injection   their own – and different – ways
                                                                                                                         tion for the risk, and the NPD was     could begin.                           of thinking.
                                                                                                                         asked to assess the economics               The outcome was that the               “That’s just nonsense.
                                                                                                                         of the project. The outcome was        flaring was permitted, but only        Russians are even greater indivi-
                                                                                                                         that the licensees were given          on condition that oil production       dualists than us Norwegians. If
                                                                                                                         more favourable depreciation           was halved to restrict the amount      any general differences exist, they
                                                                                                                         rules.                                 burnt off.                             derive from the Soviet era.
                                                                                                                              While that allowed water               That represented a drama-              “That was a time when most
                                                                                                                         injection to be realised, the          tic cut in cash flow. Mobil then       people largely did only what they
                                                                                                                         Ekofisk partners had to accept         managed to find the necessary          were told. Such passivity gave a
                                                                                                                         that state-owned Statoil acquired      injection gear in the USA and hur-     few active leaders pretty well free
                                                                                                                         a small stake in the licence and       riedly air-freighted it to Norway.     hands.”
                                                                                                                         took its share of the risk.                 As compensation for this dras-         Fortunately, the trend today
                                                                                                                              “As everyone knows, the           tic and expensive operation, the       is that the decentralised specialist
                                                                                                                         outcome of this waterflooding          licensees were allowed to write        teams in Russia’s oil and gas
                                                                                                                         proved surprisingly good,” says        down the additional costs in the       sector no longer hold back, but
                                                                                                                         Mr Njå. “Although the companies        same year the equipment became         contribute their experience to
                                                                                                                         sang to some extent from the           operational – a solution both          Moscow.
                                                                                                                         same hymn sheet, I’d argue that        sides regarded as a win-win.                “That’s where the decisions
                                                                                                                         water injection would never have                                              are taken. So we see that our
                                                                                                                         happened without our purposeful        Russia                                 contribution is worthwhile, which
                                                                                                                         commitment to IOR virtually from       Mr Njå was contacted in 1993 by        makes our work in Russia particu-
                                                                                                                         the word go.”                          Øystein Berg, head of the Petrad       larly meaningful,” says Mr Njå.
                                                                                                                              Another colleague he wants        development assistance agency,              In his view, the Norwegians
                                                                                                                         to praise is Kjell Reidar Knutsen.     which had been charged with            have things to learn from Russia
                                                                                                                         “The work he and his colleagues        helping Russia to enter the            about the theoretical approach
                                                                                                                         have done over the years to            modern oil world.                      to oil and gas – particularly when
                                                                                                                         streamline reporting from the              The Soviet Union had been          learning what is happening in the
                                                                                                                         companies, define concepts,            dissolved two years earlier, and       reservoirs.
                                                                                                                         systematise the information and        the Russians now had to learn
                                                                                                                         use it to build up our database is     western ways of doing things – in      Nigeria
                                                                                                                         greatly undervalued.”                  part with aid from foreign inves-      He has also devoted a lot of
                                                                                                                              The MPE, Statistics Norway        tors.                                  time to putting in place a better

Steinar Njå is proud of working for society as a whole. He has been with the NPD for 39 of the directorate’s 40 years.

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Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
Sometimes, however, I feel we should ask ourselves
                        whether we are being too friendly.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Celebrating 40th anniversary
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The NPD was created on 14 June 1972 by a vote in the Storting (parliament).
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        It has had three directors general since its foundation – starting with
                                                  Exxon, Eni, Total and Statoil are     After the split, of course, we’ve                                                                                 geologist Fredrik Hagemann. He was succeeded by ex-politician Gunnar Berge
                                                  also contributing expertise, while    learnt to live with the reality                                                                                   before another geologist, Bente Nyland, took over.
                                                  the NPD is drawn in as required to    without weakening either resource
                                                  assist government agencies in the     management or safety super-
                                                  other countries.                      vision.”
                                                       The work also benefits from           In his view, the NPD took a
                                                                                                                                    AV ARNT EVEN BØE           OLJEDIREKTØRENE

                                                  the support of the Sustainable        tougher line with the compa-
                                                  Energy for All venture initiated      nies in many cases after its initial
                                                  by UN secretary-general Ban           apprenticeship. But he also sees
                                                  Ki-moon.                              that the trend has been towards OD revolusjonerte sikkerheten
                                                                                                                                            FREDRIK HAGEMANN MENER DIREKTORATET
                                                       This aims to introduce energy-   more detailed development                                    BLIR OVERSETT I OLJEHISTORIEN
                                                  saving programmes in poor coun-       plans, agreements and regula-
                                                  tries and to build infrastructure     tions.
                                                                                                                               -Det som er litt leit, sier Fredrik Hagemann og bruker et sekund eller to for å
                                                  and transmission lines in areas            All the parties must relate      formulere budskapet han nå skal framføre. Oljedirektoratets sjef gjennom de
Lessons. Steinar Njå has witnessed great          without an electricity supply.        professionally to these. “It’s clear han nå skal oppsummere sin tid i OD og fortelle om noe som er ”litt leit”, er det
                                                                                                                               første 24 årene bruker aldri sterke ord eller dramatiske virkemidler. Men når
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        AV ARNT EVEN BØE           OLJEDIREKTØRENE

international interest in the Norwegian model.         “The more I travel around        that the traditional approach,         all mulig grunn til å lytte. Krassere enn det kommer han neppe til å bli sitert.

                                                  the world, the more I understand      which prefers collaboration with              -Det som er litt leit, synes jeg, er at Oljedi-
                                                                                                                                      rektoratets mange positive bidrag ikke blir        standbyskip og –helikoptere, medvirket til
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           som han kan høres ut, så langt. Han ler mye
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           og skyter stadig inn anekdoter og historier

             regime for oil administration in     the importance of international       the companies to confrontation,
                                                                                                                                      nevnt når oljehistorien skrives og fortelles.
                                                                                                                                      Typisk i så måte var den ellers så utmerk-
                                                                                                                                      ede serien om norsk oljehistorie som gikk
                                                                                                                                                                                         kvantesprang på sikkerhetsområdet.

                                                                                                                                                                                         FØRST UTE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ”som ikke egner seg på trykk”. Som i oljås

             Nigeria, where corruption is one     collaboration on climate and envi-    yields rich rewards.
                                                                                                                                      på NRK. Der var det mye interessant, ikke
                                                                                                                                      minst om Statoil, men ikke ett ord om Olje-
                                                                                                                                      direktoratet som jeg vil påstå spilte en minst     nivået også der betraktelig. OD og norsk
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           mot de seismiske undersøkelsene som de

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           jo helt rett i, medgir Hagemann i dag. –Vi

             of the biggest challenges.           ronmental measures in the petro-           “Sometimes, however, I feel
                                                                                                                                      like viktig rolle i disse første årene,
                                                                                                                                      sier Hagemann.
                                                                                                                                           Selvfølgelig ble det i serien fokusert på
                                                                                                                                                                                         sokkel var også historisk tidlig ute med det
                                                                                                                                                                                         såkalte egenkontroll-prinsippet. Det går ut
                                                                                                                                                                                         på at myndighetene ikke kan eller skal kon-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           brukte jo dynamitt. Men det hjalp godt da vi
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           startet med opprydding på havbunnen fordi
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           trålerne klagde på at oljeskrot ødela for dem.

                  Former Norwegian premier        leum sector,” says Mr Njå.            we should ask ourselves whether
                                                                                                                                      ulykkene og de negative sidene ved ”oljå”,
                                                                                                                                      skulle bare mangle. ”Alexander Kielland”-
                                                                                                                                      havariet i 1980, da 123 mennesker mistet
                                                                                                                                                                                         trollere skruer eller muttere, men overlate
                                                                                                                                                                                         til operatørselskapene å dokumentere at sik-
                                                                                                                                                                                         kerhetsoppleggene og -rutinene er i samsvar
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Mesteparten av det vi fant viste seg å være

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           vi tilbød dem å kjøpe tilbake utstyret for en

             Kjell Magne Bondevik took advan-          “To quote my colleague Else      we are being too friendly,
                                                                                                                                                                                         med våre krav. Dette prinsippet var OD først      billig penge. Det gjorde de med stor glede,

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Lofot
                                                                                                                                                                                         med i Norge, og nå brer det seg over kloden.      siden de allerede hadde fått erstatning for
                                                                                                                                      tragiske hendelser som aldri vil eller skal gå i   At dette ikke er interessant når historien skal   utstyret.

             tage of Nigeria’s democratisation    Ormaasen: ‘collaboration with         whether the demands we make
                                                                                                                                      glemmeboken. Begge bidro til økt forståelse
                                                                                                                                      for at sikkerheten må gå foran alt, i vissheten
                                                                                                                                                                                         fortelles, er litt leit, synes jeg.
                                                                                                                                                                                              Fortsatt uten å slå i bordet forteller       ANSATT NUMMER 3

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 bli e
                                                                                                                                      om at selv det utenkelige kan skje. Men            Hagemann oppgitt om alle dem som er opp-          Da Fredrik Hagemann ble utnevnt til Olje-

             process around 1999-2000 to          other countries is part of our        are tough enough.
                                                                                                                                      Fredrik Hagemann ønsker en mer balansert
                                                                                                                                      framstilling av historien.
                                                                                                                                          -Faktum er at oljebransjen, med Olje-
                                                                                                                                                                                         tatt av å problematisere og mistenkeliggjøre
                                                                                                                                                                                         oljenæringen. For eksempel da han en gang,
                                                                                                                                                                                         som redaksjonell konsulent for et bokverk
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           direktoratets første sjef i 1972, kom han fra
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Industridepartementets Oljekontor, arne-

             launch an oil-related collabora-     international responsibility’.”            “I can’t point to any specific
                                                                                                                                      direktoratet i spissen, har revolusjonert sik-

                                                                                                                                      men for alle som ferdes på havet. Før platt-
                                                                                                                                                                                         om oljevirksomheten, ble forelagt en teori
                                                                                                                                                                                         som gikk ut på at oljeselskapene med over-
                                                                                                                                                                                         legg startet med å bore 33 tørre brønner
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           lige oljepionerer. Stavanger kjente han godt
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           etter oppveksten som sønn av kommune-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           legen på Jørpeland. Heller ikke de to som
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                GUNNAR BER
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 MOT OLJEB
             tion between the two countries.                                            recent examples, but believe on               mye farligere arbeidsplass enn nå. Det beste
                                                                                                                                                                                         på norsk sokkel: De ville presse fram bedre
                                                                                                                                                                                         rammebetingelser for fortsettelsen. Litt leit,
                                                                                                                                                                                         det og.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           var ansatte før ham, var ukjente. Sekretær
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Brynhild Meltveit kom også fra Jørpeland.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Selv om hun lå i barnevogn da Fredrik dro

                  The Nigerian government is      Changed                               a general basis that it can be con-
                                                                                                                                                                                               Fredrik Hagemann er ikke så alvorlig        til Stavanger for å ta artium på Kongsgaard,

             interested in collaborating with     When Mr Njå looks back on             structive to ask such questions
             Norway in order to draw on its       almost 40 years with the NPD, he      from time to time.”                          18    OLJEDIREKTORATET4OÅR
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      - Når jeg ser tilbake p
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        vi vært enda flinker
             experience of both resource          observes that much has changed             Now 68, Mr Njå envisages
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Skulle disse områden
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      aktiviteten i Norskeh
             management and safety super-         since the early years.                another year with the NPD before                                                                                           Fredrik Hagemann                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          svært uheldig

             vision.                                  “We used to take the initiative   retiring. He never moved over to                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Gunnar Berge tenker tilbake til valg

                  Natural gas corresponding
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    1997 da Hydro forberedte den første

                                                  and get things going ourselves a      the industry because the directo-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           i Nordland VI. Området var åpnet o
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    tildelt. Hydros brønn skulle bli den

             to twice Norway’s exports of this    lot more. Former director general     rate always offered him very inter-                                                                                                                                                                 AV ARNT EVEN BØE          OLJEDIREKTØRENE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    men plutselig gikk alarmen. Oljebor
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    utenfor Lofoten ble framstilt som ha
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    miljøprotestene ble så høylytte at po

             commodity is flared worldwide        Fredrik Hagemann was good at          esting assignments.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    fryktet de skulle influere valget. Som
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    i Oljedirektoratet var Gunnar Berge

             every year. This wasted resource
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    dem som snakket med Hydro og fik

                                                  supporting such moves.                     “No other employer could
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             -Det var jeg som
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    skapet til å avlyse den omstridte bor
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         -Bore-retretten la seg etter hver

             could be worth NOK 150 billion.          “This ‘entrepreneurial spirit’    have offered such projects. This
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    skjebnesvanger klam hånd over akti
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    planene i området. Til slutt ble Nord

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            skulle slukke lyset
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    stengt for oljeleting. Hendelsen var
                  Nigeria and Russia account      obviously reflected the fact that     has never been about money for
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    til dagens debatt om ja eller nei til o
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    utenfor Lofoten og Vesterålen. For m

             for the biggest volumes, and also    we were sailing unfamiliar seas.      me, but about the professional
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    dette en underlig problemstilling ett
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    enn 40 års læretid lenger sør og nor

             have the greatest potential both     Now and then, I miss that sense of    perspectives, the opportunity to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     SOM NYANSATT OLJEDIREKTØR FOR FIRE ÅR SIDEN HADDE BENTE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   NYLAND ENKELTE GANGER FØLELSEN AV Å VÆRE DEN SISTE I REKKEN.                                                          Gunnar Berge er en friluftsmann som trives like godt med ski som med joggesko på beina. Her er han på søndagstur på Tungenes nord for Stavanger.

             for making better alternative use    get-up-and-go where we challen-       work on the overall picture.                                                                                                                                                    BRANSJEN VAR FOR NEDADGÅENDE, OG PESSIMISMEN RÅDET.                                                              Foto : Emile Ashley

             of the gas flared and for pursuing                                                                                                                                                                                                               Gunnar Berge                                                                                                              12

                                                  ged the MPE more.”                         “I’ve also appreciated all the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                OLJEDIREKTORATET4OÅR

             IOR.                                     He has also seen the NPD’s        good colleagues and collabo-
                  According to Mr Njå, Nor-       role change over the years.           ration internally. But the most                                                                                                                                          - Nå opplever vi en enorm optimisme der alle vil være med og lete. Selskap som har
             wegian experience from its own       Responsibility for the environ-       powerful driving force has been                                                                                                                                            forlatt norsk sokkel kommer tilbake, og de som ikke gjør funn, satser friskt videre.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Utviklingen er selvfølgelig gledelig, men sier også sitt om en bransje der
             continental shelf could be of very   ment now lies largely with the        the knowledge that I’m working                                                                                                                                                              selskapene har lett for å springe etter hverandre.

             great importance in these areas.     Norwegian Climate and Pollution       for society.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Oljedirektøren synes det er enkelt å
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            forholde seg til olje- og energiministeren:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            handlemåte. Jeg har merket meg at denne
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            meldingen i tillegg til økt utvinning også           ganger. Når det ender med funn, er det en ny

                  Norway participates in the      Agency (Klif) and for safety with          “If I do a good job, the results
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            -Ola Borten Moe er en tydelig olje- og
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            energiminister. De signalene han sender,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            betoner tilrettelegging av nye områder
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            sterkere enn i tidligere, sier Nyland som            erte områder fungerer etter forutsetningene.

             work of the global gas flaring
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            representerer Regjeringens forventinger til     minner om at dypt vann i Norskehavet var             Det betyr at vi ikke kan utelukke liknende

                                                  the Petroleum Safety Authority        aren’t confined to increased pro-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   industrien som dermed vet hva den skal
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            forholde seg til. Og det gleder meg at han
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            det siste nye området som ble åpnet for let-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ing. Det var i 1994. Samtidig ble Nordland
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 hendelser på andre deler av sokkelen.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      -Mange peker på det rekordhøye invester-

             reduction (GGFR) initiative by the   Norway (PSA).                         fits for my employer. The value I
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            er så opptatt av økt utvinning. Slik framstår
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            statsråden som en av de beste pådriverne
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            vi har når det gjelder å få mest mulig ut av
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            VI åpnet for leting og blokker tildelt. Men
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            området ble som kjent stengt igjen – og er
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            det fortsatt. Det som skjedde på Nordland VI
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ingsnivået i ”oljå” og frykter overoppheting.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Er tiden inne til å sette bremsene på?
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      -Diskusjonen om styring av aktiviteten

             World Bank to create a programme         “Personally, I feel that sepa-    help to create benefits the whole
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            de gamle oljefeltene, sier oljedirektør Bente
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Nyland.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            er en påminnelse om hvor vanskelig det kan
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            være å følge opp politiske beslutninger i det
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            virkelige liv, sier hun.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 og køordninger for utbygginger er ikke ny.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 De forsøkene som er gjort på å bremse, har
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ikke virket etter hensikten. En kan kanskje
             in each country.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Hun mener Sp-statsråden langt klarere

                                                  rating out the PSA to create an       nation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             seg som en minister for petroleumssekt-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                -Har de nye store funnene, som Johan
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Sverdrup, endret det norske oljeperspektivet?        det samme samtidig. Akkurat nå er aktivi-

                  These are then followed up
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            oren. Han formilder innholdet i Petroleums-                                                          teten svært høy på grunn av høye oljepriser.

                                                  independent agency is the move             “Internationally, my collea-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   -Meldingen viser at Regjeringen vil noe med
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            sialet for uoppdagede ressurser i Nordsjøen
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            og er den viktigste årsaken til at vi trolig
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Et raskt og dramatisk fall i oljeprisen kan fort
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 endre på det. Da kan de negative konsekven-

             with knowledge transfer and ana-     which has weakened the NPD            gues and I find that a growing
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            næringen, setter framtidsperspektiver og
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            beskriver hvorledes nasjonen skal nå målene,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            sier oljedirektøren og oppsummerer bud-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            kommer til å oppjusterer estimatet vårt for
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            uoppdagede ressurser i Nordsjøen. Funnet
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 sene forsterkes av iverksatte bremsetiltak.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Det er ikke mer enn 10 år siden vi alle var
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 bekymret for sterkt fallende aktivitet på sok-

             lyses between the participants,      most,” Mr Njå observes.               number of oil-producing coun-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       •    Sterkere satsing på økt utvinning.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            aldri skal si aldri. Vi har visst om at det var et
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            prospekt der lenge, men det ble vurdert til å
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 kelen. Etter mitt syn er det feil signal å endre
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 rammebetingelsene i perioder med høyt

             who include the USA, Canada,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            •    Flest mulig nye funn i produksjon.         ha lav funnsannsynlighet fordi vi ikke kunne         aktivitetsnivå. Men det er viktig å følge med

                                                      “As a single agency, we made      tries want to copy the NPD. That’s                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  •    Intensivert leting i eksisterende
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 områder for å ta hånd om tidskritiske
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            skjønne hvordan olje skulle kunne migrere
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            inn i området. Når det til sist ble gjort et så
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 på at vedtatte planer blir fulgt og at budsjet-

             Nigeria, Iraq, Indonesia and         better use of human resources         the best evidence of our success.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  •
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ressurser.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Tilrettelegging for åpning av nye
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 områder for oljeleting.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            stort funn, skyldes det både nye brønner
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            og ny seismikk som avslørte at oljen hadde
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 klarer å holde den forventede kvaliteten,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 og at oljeselskapene sikrer seg tilstrekkelig
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 kompetanse.

             Mexico as well as Norway.            and stood stronger externally.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                –For Oljedirektoratet som etat er det
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            viktig å sikre at Petroleumsmeldingens          regelen.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      OD legger seg ikke oppi selskapenes
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 optimisme eller pessimisme, men direktora-

                  Oil companies Chevron, Shell,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            ambisjoner gjennomsyrer vårt budskap og            -Jeg vil minne om at den aktuelle blok-           tet er svært nøye når det vurderer realismen
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Bente Nyland har i jubileumsåret 2012 styrt Oljedirektoratet i fem år. Foto: Emile Ashley

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             4                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 5

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Bente Nyland
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     OLJEDIREKTORATET4OÅR                                                                                                                                                                                                                               OLJEDIREKTORATET4OÅR

 10 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2012                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    2-2012 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 11
Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
ON THE SPOT

                                                                                                                NPD     40         YEARS

            Challenging
                                                The oil reserves in Troll have
                                                turned this huge gas field in the
                                                North Sea into the giant of the
                                                NCS, bigger than next largest          Achievement
                                                discoveries – Ekofisk and Statfjord
                                                – put together.

            achievement
                                                    Its story began in August          This ranks as one of the agency’s
                                                1979, when Borgny Dolphin drilled      biggest achievements in its
                                                into a geological formation long       40-year history, accomplished
                                                known to the geologists as a big       at a time when all attention was
                                                “flat spot” which might contain        focused on the field’s gas resources.
                                                much oil, gas or both.                     Troll was discovered during
                                                    Although this structure was        the Cold War in a Europe hungry
                                                by no means unknown, most oil          for more “friendly” energy sources.
                                                companies found a water depth          The prospect of Russian gas
                                                of 300-350 metres offputting at        exports expanding created great
                                                the time. Not so Shell.                concern in the West.
            Producing the oil in Troll is one       The latter became operator             This was nowhere greater than
                                                                                       in the USA, and president Ronald
                                                of block 31/2, with 35 per cent, in
            of the greatest technological,      Norway’s fourth licensing round        Reagan strove to ensure that Troll
                                                in 1978. Statoil had 50 per cent,      came on stream as fast as possible
            resource management and             while Conoco, Superior Oil and         to reduce European dependence
            value creation successes on         Norsk Hydro got five per cent          on Communist energy.
                                                                                           But Reagan’s urgent prompt-
                                                each.
            the NCS. The NPD played                 This bold commitment reaped        ings fell on deaf ears in a Nor-
                                                a quick reward, and the NPD            wegian government which
            and continues to play               issued a press release as early as     quickly grasped that it would take
            a crucial role in this saga.        5 September that year which con-       much time and effort to plan the
                                                                                       development of this huge discovery.
                                                firmed the discovery of “a gas field
                                                with substantial reserves”.                Shell, which had initially
            | Arnt Even Bøe                         All the signs were that the        dubbed the find Kamskjell
               Illustrations: Klas Jønsson      discovery also extended into the       (Scallop), submitted the first plans
                                                neighbouring 31/3, 31/5 and 31/6       in the early 1980s for bringing it
                                                blocks “with considerable resources    on stream as quickly as possible.
                                                there as well”.                            These proposals paid scant
                                                    The partnership could event-       regard to the oil, which was con-
                                                ually report that it had made          sidered unprofitable to produce
                                                “a world-class gas discovery”,         – mainly because the strata in
                                                perhaps 10 times larger than the       which it lay were so thin.
                                                                                           According to the licensees,
                                                                                       new drilling technology would
                                                                                       have to be developed to recover
                                                                                       any substantial volume of this
                                                                                       crude. And they had no time to
                                                                                       wait for that to happen if the gas
                                                now-depleted Frigg field in the        was to be speedily positioned in
                                                North Sea.                             the market.
                                                     Few people, if any, reckoned          The NPD saw that Troll’s size
                                                at the time that the thin, virtually   meant it could serve as a guaran-
                                                inaccessible oil layers beneath the    tor which would allow associated
                                                gas would also make Troll one of       gas in other oil fields and smaller
                                                the North Sea’s biggest oil fields.    Norwegian gas discoveries to be
                                                     But that has been the out-        developed.
                                                come of tough negotiations both            But the agency was much
                                                inside and outside the licence         readier to adopt a waiting atti-
                                                group. A stubborn NPD secured          tude on the Troll oil than Shell
                                                Norway huge revenues from Troll        and the other partners because
                                                oil.                                   the extent of the reservoir meant
                                                                                       the resources could be substantial.

12 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2012                                                              2-2012 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 13
Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
Without the NPD’s demand for unitisation, Shell would have
            started production on its own terms and the crude would have
            been lost for ever. (Ole Svein Krakstad)

            Team                                  calculating pressure loss in pipe-
                                                  lines.
                                                                                        Norwegian government to give
                                                                                        preference to the three domestic
                                                       Robertson Research in the UK     oil companies created during
                                                  investigated the geological con-      Norway’s short career as an oil
            The upshot was that the oil zones
                                                  ditions, while assessments were       nation.
            had to be mapped. This prompted
                                                  made of various development                So nobody was surprised
            the NPD to take the innovative
                                                  concepts.                             when the Labour government
            step of establishing a special
                                                       It was important to avoid        proposed awarding the three
            cross-disciplinary team in 1981-82
                                                  the fate of Frigg, the biggest        neighbouring blocks on the same
            to monitor Troll.
                                                  Norwegian gas find before Troll,      pattern adopted for the Gullfaks
                 Farouk Al-Kasim, the direc-
                                                  which had also contained oil in       field.
            tor of resource management,
                                                  even thicker layers than in parts          This meant that wholly state-
            appointed principal engineer Ole
                                                  of the new discovery.                 owned Statoil received 85 per
            Svein Krakstad to lead this body
                                                       Measuring seven to 10 metres     cent and the operatorship, part
            and report directly to him.
                                                  in height, these strata made Frigg    state-owned Hydro nine per
                 Mr Krakstad was given a free
                                                  a substantial oil field. But the      cent and privately owned Saga
            hand to recruit the specialists he
                                                  technology to recover this crude      Petroleum six per cent.
            thought best suited to serve on
                                                  was not available when it came             Labour had originally wanted
            the team. They were intended to
                                                  on stream in 1977.                    to give Statoil 100 per cent after
            cover the whole value chain from
                                                       It would have been neces-        Arve Johnsen, the company’s
            geophysics to economics.
                                                  sary to drill several hundred         chief executive, pointed out
                 A reservoir engineer himself,
                                                  production wells to get out these     Troll’s strategic importance for
            Mr Krakstad began in the autumn
                                                  resources, which were lost once       Norwegian gas sales.
            of 1981 to simulate the behav-
                                                  gas production reduced reservoir           But the party appreciated that
            iour of the Troll formation – first
                                                  pressure.                             this would be politically impossi-
            vertically, then horizontally – as
                                                       The job for the NPD’s team       ble, and the Conservative govern-
            revealed by drilling.
                                                  was to identify the opportunities     ment which took over after the
                 More people became involved
                                                  – both existing or potential – for    1981 general election withdrew
            during 1982, and the whole                                                                                         was low, Shell declared “its” Troll   the agency and the companies           view that the reservoir formations
                                                  recovering the Troll oil, which ran   its predecessor’s proposals.
            operation moved at the end of                                                                                      block to be commercial on 15          related in virtually every case to     in east and west were probably in
                                                  to several billion barrels.                Statoil feared that its opera-
            the year into a former carpet shop                                                                                 November 1983 and continued to        the development of the “Shell”         communication.
                                                       From day one, the agency’s       tor position would be weakened,
            on the ground floor of the NPD’s                                                                                   press for gas production to begin     block on the western side of the           The MPE followed the discuss-
                                                  oil ambitions ran into opposition     and launched a vigorous lob-
            then offices in Stavanger.                                                                                         as soon as possible.                  field.                                 ions closely, and eventually pro-
                                                  from the licensees. They regarded     bying campaign. In 1982, the
                 Team members in this early                                                                                                                              That contained a third of the      vided NOK 5 million in extra funds
                                                  the crude at best as a pure by-       Conservatives approved the divi-
            phase included geophysicist Svein                                                                                                                        gas and virtually all the recover-     for reservoir studies.
                                                  product which could delay gas         sion of interests but decided that
            Johnsen, assistant geophysicist
            Jan Allen Eide, and geologists
                                                  sales.                                Hydro would also have an opera-        Sources                               able oil. The NPD’s dilemma was            Intended to document that
                                                       The companies took the view      tor responsibility.                                                          that the more gas output it per-       gas output on the western flank
            Magne Edvardsen, Øyvind Lønne                                                                                                                            mitted in this area, the harder oil    would hit oil production, this
                                                  that early gas production was no           The failure of the minority
            and Kjetil Tonstad.                                                                                                Five people have been the princi-     extraction would become.               appropriation was spent on exter-
                                                  problem, and wanted the NPD to        government to give a better deal
                 Torfinn Karlsen and Terje Åsen                                                                                pal sources for this presentation         A test well in the thin oil zone   nal studies focused primarily on
                                                  document its claim that such out-     to Saga aroused the ire of the
            were the experts on reservoir                                                                                      of the NPD’s role in the story of     during 1980 confirmed that it was      reservoir simulation.
                                                  put would damage the prospects        other non-socialist parties in the
            technology, Tore Bjordal special-                                                                                  Troll oil, including Mr Krakstad.     possible to recover these resourc-         The NPD contributed its own
                                                  for oil recovery.                     Storting (parliament).
            ised in field development, and                                                                                     He was closely involved until his     es, and optimism was boosted by        personnel and funds to the work,
                                                                                             After much political in-fight-
            Billy Bærning and Olav Fjellså                                                                                     departure in 1985.                    a second test well in the thicker      and its Troll team expanded to 12
                                                                                        ing, Saga also secured an opera-
            dealt with the economics.
                 The team received help from
                                                  Allocated                             tor role. The award of the three           Mr Bjordal then took over and     layers the following year.             members. This expenditure indi-
                                                                                        additional Troll blocks was unani-     led the team until 2003. Joining in       Despite these results, Shell       cates how seriously the govern-
            a number of NPD specialists. Hans                                                                                  2000, Leif Hinderaker eventually      remained eager to start produc-        ment regarded the issue.
                                                                                        mously approved by the Storting’s
            Christian Rønnevik and Sigurd                                                                                      became its coordinator. That job is   ing the gas. It eventually moved
                                                  Troll’s gas resources extended        industry committee in 1983.
            Heiberg, for instance, supported                                                                                   held today by Torgunn Kvervavik       close to the NPD’s position by say-
                                                  far into the neighbouring blocks           Shell had submitted an early
            early geological interpretation
            and reservoir work respectively.
                                                  to the east, which had not been       application for the three unallo-      Sheridan.                             ing it could produce oil and gas       Status
                                                  allocated. That prompted great        cated blocks, but failed even to           Finally, Tomas Mørch became       simultaneously from a platform
                 External studies were also                                                                                    the NPD’s area director for the       in the west, but crude could only
                                                  interest among most of the oil        receive an acknowledgement
            conducted by Rogaland Research                                                                                     northern North Sea – including        come from the thickest zones.          All four operators – Shell, Statoil,
                                                  companies.                            from the Ministry of Petroleum
            and Franlab in France on reservoir                                                                                 Troll – in 2010.                          That was not good enough           Hydro and Saga – were asked by
                                                       At that time, it was still       and Energy (MPE).
            simulation and by the latter on                                                                                        The confrontations between        for the Troll team, which took the     the NPD in June 1984 to provide a
                                                  both legal and normal for the              While stressing that the return

14 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2012                                                                                                                                                                                   2-2012 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 15
Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
status report and to outline their       such a project.                       put at 45 degrees – at 60 degrees,
            future plans for the oil in both             The state company main-           the whole well would collapse                     The oil industry has repeatedly demonstrated that it isn’t
            thick and thin layers.
                 Shell responded that produc-
                                                     tained a low profile in the part-
                                                     nership, despite its cautious opti-
                                                                                           when the bit was withdrawn.
                                                                                                Mr Bjordal could then point
                                                                                                                                             the most scientific in history. (Tore Bjordal)
            ing the oil in the thin strata would     mism. According to one source, it     to a classic drilling case – a well
            be unprofitable, and valued the          had to be loyal to the rest of the    driven vertically from an artificial
            resources in the thicker zones at
            little better than zero.
                                                     group – and silently shared its
                                                     view – while expressing under-
                                                                                           island in the USA, which ended up
                                                                                           in unconsolidated sand on land           Basis                                    unproduced when the licences
                                                                                                                                                                             expired, and also aimed to reduce
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        taken in the oil province. This held
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        relatively little gas, and its crude
                 Indeed, it maintained that gas      standing for the government’s         instead of the reservoir.                                                         their impatience over the oil.             was in columns 22-27 metres
            production itself would only just        requirements.                              He could also utilise his                                                         Many problems were solved             thick.
            be commercial and stuck to its               Although none of the four         knowledge of rock mechanics to           The question was where the NPD
                                                                                                                                                                             by unitising the field, but others             Oil in place in Troll West
            plans for such output from the           were directly hungry for the oil,     show that horizontal drilling did        could find a basis for achieving
                                                                                                                                                                             were created because the discov-           totalled more than 3.6 billion bar-
            western block.                           the conclusion was that Statoil       not cause critical stresses in the       this ambition at a time when
                                                                                                                                                                             ery actually comprised two sec-            rels (570 million cubic metres) – a
                 The oil in this part of the field   and Hydro were the relevant           reservoir.                               Norway’s Petroleum Activities Act
                                                                                                                                                                             tions – Troll West and Troll East.         formidable volume which the NPD
            was seen as merely a by-product          operator candidates for an oil             Backed by scientific studies        had yet to be passed.
                                                                                                                                                                                  Both had underlying oil, but          was unwilling to write off without
            which could be recovered with            development on Troll.                 from mining specialists in                   Krakstad found the answer
                                                                                                                                                                             everyone agreed that the zones             a fight.
            the aid of a few vertical wells –            An NPD review of the docu-        Trondheim, too, Mr Heiberg               in the provisional regulations for
                                                                                                                                                                             in the east were too thin. No pur-             How much of this was recover-
            even though it not would be prof-        mentation used by the four found      demonstrated that careful drilling       acceptable exploitation of petro-
                                                                                                                                                                             pose would be served trying to             able, and at what cost, remained
            itable.                                  they had assumed a very low oil       in unconsolidated sand did not           leum resources. Section 1 stated
                                                                                                                                                                             recover crude from columns no              the key questions.
                 However, the Troll team con-        output. Unlike the Troll team, they   necessarily lead to collapse.            clearly that the government could
                                                                                                                                                                             thicker than four metres.
            cluded that Shell’s strategy for         had no faith in horizontal drilling        The argument about unprof-          demand unitisation of fields
                                                                                                                                                                                  A very different position pre-
            getting on stream had failed to          as a solution.                        itability was countered with             across several blocks if the aquifer
                                                                                                                                    was in communication.
                                                                                                                                                                             vailed in Troll West. This part of the     Horizontal
            give adequate weight to the value            The companies noted that          simulation results obtained by                                                    field was again split into two – the
            of the oil.                              developing the necessary tech-        Mr Krakstad via Franlab, which               Such contact would mean that
                                                                                                                                                                             gas province and the oil province.
                 According to the NPD, the           nology would demand both time         showed that horizontal wells             production in one place might
                                                                                                                                                                                  The first of these contained a        Only one solution was available
            company’s refusal to consider            and resources, which could delay      could increase output more than          have consequences in another,
                                                                                                                                                                             third of all the gas as well as quite      for producing Troll oil, the NPD
            horizontal drilling meant that 700       gas sales and weaken their fight      fivefold.                                and provided the legal foundation
                                                                                                                                                                             a lot of oil. This lay in thicker layers   believed – long horizontal wells.
            wells would be required to do            for a share of a seller’s market.          In retrospect, Mr Bjordal           for the NPD to act.
                                                                                                                                                                             than to the east, but these were           But the companies continued to
            justice to the oil by conventional       High risk was another problem.        observes: “The oil industry has              This was enshrined in an
                                                                                                                                                                             still no more than 13-14 metres            deny that the technology was suf-
            criteria.                                                                      repeatedly demonstrated that it          almost historic letter sent to the
                                                                                                                                                                             high.                                      ficiently mature.
                 This was naturally out of the                                             isn’t the most scientific in history”.   operators on 9 February 1984,
                                                                                                                                                                                  At the same time, the crude                Among other moves, the NPD
            question. The best management            Drain                                      The NPD also viewed with            which ordered them to unitise the
                                                                                                                                    four blocks.
                                                                                                                                                                             zones in the gas province were             pressed Hydro in December 1987
            of the field’s resources could only                                            growing concern what it regarded                                                  much more extensive than in the            to drill two virtually horizontal
            be achieved by treating both                                                   as four parallel races to develop            The NPD declared that the
                                                                                                                                                                             oil province – which also held far         wells in the oil-bearing strata on
            western and eastern sections as a        One of the arguments against          a single field. All the operators        main structures in production
                                                                                                                                                                             smaller resources.                         what became Oseberg South.
            whole.                                   horizontal drilling was the           secured voluminous studies               licences 054 and 085 were in pres-
                                                                                                                                                                                  The relatively thin oil layers             The companies nevertheless
                 That in turn meant a develop-       assumption that long production       which demonstrated how they              sure communication, and the field
                                                                                                                                                                             in the gas province could not              insisted that the thin and exten-
            ment which not only brought the          wells would drain inward in the       would tackle the job indepen-            was therefore to be regarded as a
                                                                                                                                                                             be written off, of course, but the         sive oil zones in Troll posed new
            eastern gas quickly on stream            reservoir from their entry point.     dently.                                  single reservoir.
                                                                                                                                                                             first steps nevertheless had to be         technological challenges for both
            but also optimised resource use              Pressure would thereby be              Mr Bjordal retained all these           Development of both struc-
            in the west. Horizontal drilling in      lower at the start of the well,       documents, and quickly acquired          tures had to take account of that,
            both oil zones was then the only         which might accordingly collapse      a reputation for possessing the          and the four Troll blocks were
            answer.                                  before production had got going       NPD’s untidiest and most over-           to be merged into a single unit
                 Saga pointed in its assessment      properly.                             filled office.                           where each licensee’s holding
            to the difficulties of hitting the           Assessments commissioned               Eventually, the Troll team saw      reflected their share of the total.
            producing zones, and concluded           by Mr Krakstad found that             that many of the studies and                 “This letter was one of the
            that the oil was uninteresting. The      increasing the size of liner perfo-   reports came from the same con-          most important single incidents in
            same held true for expected tech-        rations into the well would keep      sultancies and were fairly similar.      the fight over Troll oil,” Mr Krakstad
            nology progress up to 2000, and          the pressure constant at all times.   The biggest difference was the           says today. “Without it, Shell
            the company also rejected test               As a consequence of these         name of the client.                      would have started production
            output.                                  simulations, the collapse theory           The NPD found such duplica-         on its own terms and the crude
                 Hydro pointed to low rates of       could be eliminated and it was        tion meaningless, and also wor-          would have been lost for ever.”
            production and also failed to see        possible to assume higher pro-        ried that the four operators would           Unitisation was a reality by
            any profit in the oil at that time.      duction figures.                      each spend large sums on studies         the autumn of 1985. To avoid the
            But it was more hopeful of tech-             Shell and Statoil also pre-       which failed to take account of          companies opting for cheap and
            nology development and felt the          sented calculations which showed      integrated resource management.          short-term solutions, the dura-
            crude could have some promise.           that sand and gravel in the oil            It felt a block-by-block            tion of the unitised licence was
                 Unlike the other three, Statoil     zones were so unconsolidated          approach by different operators          extended from 2015/2019 to
            concluded that the oil in the thin       that it would be impossible to        was definitely the worst-case            2030.
            layers could be profitable but that      guide the bit horizontally.           scenario. The clear goal was to              This was an official response
            the rate of return would be well             The maximum acceptable            base development on an overall           to fears among the licensees that
            below its normal requirements for        deviation from the vertical was       assessment of the resources.             much of the gas would remain

16 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2012                                                                                                                                                                                               2-2012 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 17
Insisting that oil in the giant Troll field should be developed has created hundreds of billions of kroner in added value.
The conclusion on dynamic drilling was undoubtedly the                                                        roles equally between it and
                                                                                                                                    Statoil was could not be imple-
                                                                                                                                                                          production licence. Hydro was
                                                                                                                                                                          probably an optimum choice for
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Active
                      most important technical breakthrough for the Troll oil.                                                      mented with Shell as develop-
                                                                                                                                    ment operator on Troll East.
                                                                                                                                                                          the oil, precisely because Statoil
                                                                                                                                                                          was its “opponent” as gas producer.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 According to a 2006 report for
                      (Tore Bjordal)                                                                                                     It concluded: “Restricting            A high tax rate of 78 per cent
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Hydro from Econ Analyse, the
                                                                                                                                    Shell/Statoil’s operatorship to the   and the consequent good oppor-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 NPD “played a much more active
            placing the bit and drilling long,      gest political shocks from an           the gas platform planned for Troll      first gas platform opens opportu-     tunities for depreciation had
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 role in developing [Troll’s] oil
            stable boreholes.                       unexpected quarter – a Labour           West had to be transferred to the       nities for Hydro’s involvement in     made the NCS the world’s leading
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 resources than it did in any previ-
                 According to Mr Bjordal, Shell     government exercising its state         eastern section, which posed no         building the transport system and     oil technology lab.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ous project on the NCS”.
            was the most adamant of the             ownership.                              problems.                               possibly in oil production”.               The traditional rivalry between
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      To counter licensee doubts
            operators in claiming that a com-            This administration had taken           Shell became development                With Labour in government,       Statoil and Hydro also helped
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 over horizontal drilling, the
            mitment to developing innovative        over after a non-socialist coalition    operator for this Troll A facility,     Statoil’s hopes of securing the       Norway to position itself as the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 agency held a two-day seminar
            technology would be too risky.          had been defeated on a vote of          with Statoil scheduled to take          oil operatorship rose. Mr Øien        most innovative and creative oil
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 in April 1988 to identify what was
                 It pointed in part to the fact     confidence in the Storting on 9         over when output began. The             was once again forced to choose       province on the planet.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 happening internationally on
            that the Troll development pro-         May 1986.                               latter was also to sell the gas         between the wholly and partly              Hydro itself did not believe
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 recovery from thin oil zones.
            ject was already breaching tech-             With Labour’s Arne Øien            and build the transport system          state-owned companies.                initially that the oil would prove
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Its Troll team had demon-
            nological barriers presented by         installed as petroleum minister,        required.                                    He reprised his Togi decision    particularly profitable, but com-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 strated through simulations as
            deep water and tough weather.           such a change would normally                 Because the licensees had          and took Hydro’s side, to wide-       mitted itself flat out to the pro-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 early as 1982 that horizontal wells
                 However, the NPD team              have benefited Statoil. Its surprise    been so reluctant to prioritise oil     spread surprise. The Storting         ject.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 boosted production rates com-
            investigated what had been done         was all the greater when Mr Øien,       production from Troll West, the         voted in December 1986 to make             That was because the work
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 pared with vertical drilling.
            elsewhere and discovered that           in his capacity as the company’s        NPD and the MPE concluded that          Hydro operator for a possible Troll   involved so many technologi-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      These studies had concluded
            Shell and the other international       general meeting, compelled it to        this phase required a separate          West oil project.                     cal development opportunities.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 that oil recovery was profitable
            companies in the Troll group were       vote for Togi.                          operator.                                    The unitisation deal was for-    The company had already shown
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 from the thick zones but only
            surprisingly ill-informed.                   The licence accordingly                 That had to be a company           mally approved nine days later.       great interest in adopting new
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 marginally commercial with the
                 With the aid of relatively unso-   approved the plan, which                which had or could adopt a dif-         Both decisions fitted the NPD’s       solutions on Oseberg and Togi.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 thin layers.
            phisticated search methods, the         received a green light on 19            ferent agenda from gas alone.           strategy of producing the oil, and         Where the Troll partnership
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The NPD had followed up this
            agency could establish that many        June 1986. In protest, Shell initi-     The choice lay between Statoil          its Troll team finally saw light at   was concerned, however, it did
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 work by gathering information on
            horizontal wells had already been       ated tests in the Netherlands to        and Hydro, but the former was to        the end of the tunnel.                not have so much to offer apart
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 horizontal drilling from all over
            drilled around the globe.               demonstrate that the project was        take over Troll A when Shell was                                              from the weight provided by the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 the world, and now invited all
                                                    unworkable.                             finished.                                                                     backing of the NPD and the MPE.
                                                         When these studies showed,              The non-socialist government       Competition                                A key reason for the persis-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 the relevant players to attend the
            Oseberg                                 to the oil company’s astonish-          wanted Statoil and Hydro to be                                                tent reluctance to commit to the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 seminar.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      It emerged there that the
                                                    ment, that the opposition to Togi       on an equal footing as Troll opera-                                           oil was and is the use of present
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Soviet Union had drilled short
                                                    had no basis in reality, it changed     tors, and asked Statoil to choose       With Hydro in the driving seat        value calculations by the compa-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 horizontal wells as early as the
            Plans to inject Troll gas in Oseberg    its strategy and fell back into line.   between gas transport and the oil       for the oil, the well-established     nies in guiding investment to the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 1930s and vertical boreholes with
            to improve oil recovery from this            Hydro executed the project         operatorship.                           competition on the NCS between        most profitable targets.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 horizontal sidetracks in the 1960s.
            Hydro development were submit-          with great enthusiasm, and                   Hydro had previously been          it and Statoil moved to a new and          Such calculations clearly
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Soviet drillers had completed
            ted in the midst of the fight over      scored a success. The company           “compensated” with responsibil-         demanding setting.                    showed that the most rewarding
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 many multilateral and horizontal
            the oil and the jockeying for posi-     gained useful experience both           ity for the “diamond block”, which          These two arch-rivals had         route was to produce as much gas
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 wells up to 1980, primarily in
            tion by the operators.                  with long-distance multiphase           contained Visund but where the          already challenged each other         as possible in the quickest possi-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 oil zones under gas caps. These
                The NPD was keen on this            flow and subsea production in           first well proved to be dry.            strategically and technologically     ble way. Waiting for the oil would
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 could yield up to 10 times the
            Troll Oseberg gas injection (Togi)      deep water, which could later be             In other words, Hydro’s organi-    as operators and partners in vari-    reduce present value.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 output of conventional drilling,
            scheme, both for resource con-          applied on Troll.                       sation had spare capacity and was       ous fields.                                Hydro’s present value results
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 and often give higher recovery
            siderations and because it would                                                pinning its hopes on Troll. But             They were now both to be          for Troll were not very different
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 factors.
            give experience in long-distance                                                some disagreement exists over           operators in one and the same         from those produced by Shell and
            multiphase flow of oil, water and       Three-phase                             how much it or Statoil wanted the                                             Saga. But the operator role also
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      A virtually horizontal well had
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 been drilled through an oil layer
            gas.                                                                            oil operatorship.                                                             had a value in itself.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 only four-eight metres thick with
                Hydro was made operator for                                                      The perception in the NPD                                                     Apart from the prestige, being
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 a gas cap on Exxon’s Snapper field
            the subsea Togi installation on         Unitisation laid the basis for a        was that many people in both                                                  in the driving seat provided
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 off Australia.
            Troll, but a majority of the Troll      three-phase development, start-         companies still believed that Troll                                           opportunities to develop its own
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Successful horizontal drill-
            licensees – Shell, Statoil, Mobil       ing with the gas in Troll East, then    was primarily a gas field and that                                            organisation and attract the best
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ing over as much as 500 metres
            and Conoco – opposed the pro-           the oil in Troll West and finally the   the oil was actually a dead end.                                              brains by offering interesting and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 was reported at Prudhoe Bay in
            posal.                                  Troll West gas – expected to begin           All the companies manoe-                                                 important jobs.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Alaska, and operator Arco claimed
                This quartet could thereby          flowing from 2024.                      uvred tactically in their fight over                                               The operatorship helped to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 a maximum deviation of one-
            block the whole project. Elf and            The plan for development and        the assets, but both Statoil and                                              boost Hydro’s commitment to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 three metres from the planned
            Total confirmed Hydro’s long-           operation (PDO) of Troll East gas       Hydro were undoubtedly inter-                                                 making the project as profitable
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 path.
            standing good relationship with         was approved in December 1986.          ested in the oil job if it was indis-                                         as possible. It may also have felt
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      With Elf reporting similar
            French interests by supporting          That confirmed Shell’s support for      putably a separate assignment.                                                that success with the oil would
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 experiences from the Medi-
            Togi.                                   starting in the east and producing           In a letter to the MPE in                                                pay off in future licence awards.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 terranean, the seminar gave a
                The Statoil management              the oil on its own terms.               January 1986, Hydro claimed that                                                                                     fresh boost to a process which
            now experienced one of its big-             One consequence was that            the Storting’s decision to divide                                                                                    would make Troll Norway’s big-

18 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2012                                                                                                                                                                                        2-2012 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 19
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