The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate came out with final numbers for year 2000 Norwegian crude oil production today

Norwegian crude oil production increased 205,288 b/d in year 2000 over 1999. The increase was achieved because 7 fields with Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR) values > 100 million barrels came on-line in 1999 and 1 came on-line in 2000. A majority of the active Norwegian oil fields (~65%) are declining which reduced the impact of increasing oil production from new fields and from new platforms on old fields. The total decline of declining fields from 1999 to 2000 was 328,963 b/d. The total increase from new fields and new developments in old fields was 534,251 b/d. Listed below are the 5 fields with the largest increases in production rate (Table 1) and the 5 fields with the largest decreases in production rate for year 2000 relative to 1999 (Table 2).

Table 1: Fields with Largest Increasing Production Rate

FieldYear 2000 Prod. (b/d) 1999 to 2000 Prod. Increase (b/d)

Jotun123,207108,326

Troll311,336 88,774

Asgard 134,757 67,502

Balder69,08553,898

Ekofisk Area* 312,79442,806

* Includes Ekofisk, Eldfisk, and Tor

Table 2: Fields with Largest Decreasing Production Rate

FieldPeak Prod. (b/d) Peak Prod. Year Year '00 Prod. (b/d) '99-'00 Decline(b/d)

Oseberg 502,6441994264,97370,111

Gullfaks 530,0001994226,806 68,541

Heidrun* 231,2191997182,604 32,027

Statfjord** 646,0001991187,16028,685

Brage110,337199645,267 20,221

* Production has not reached 50% of EUR. Another platform could lead to a higher production level
** Includes the Norwegian sector of the North Sea only

In December 2000, fields > 100 million barrels provided 96.7% of Norway's total crude oil production while making up ~73% of Norway's active fields. The data in Table 2 indicate how quickly Norwegian fields decline once they go into decline. Decline rates of 10-30%/year are common for declining Norwegian fields. Table 3 has decline rate data for some major Norwegian oil fields.

Table 3: Percent Decline Data for Major Norwegian Oil Fields

Field% Decline from 1999 to 2000

Oseberg20.92

Gullfaks23.21

Statfjord13.29

Brage30.88

Gyda 25.90

Statfjord East25.33

Tordis9.89

Ula19.40

Vigdis18.05

The percent produced in 2000 relative to Jan 1, 2000 remaining oil for Norwegian fields was typically >10%. The highest figures for 2000 were 46.1% (Varg), 37.6% (Froy), 24.1% (Tordis), and 24.0% (Jotun).

In 2001 two significant developments are expected to be completed. The Snorre II development is expected to increase Snorre production from ~150,000 b/d to ~275,000 b/d. The other major project is development of the Ringhorne field (EUR 191.0 million barrels). Table 4 contains information on fields to be developed in the future.

Table 4: Future Field Developments

FieldExpected On-Line Date EUR* (million barrels)

Grane2003705.0

Fram2003203.8

Kvitebjorn**2004108.0

Kristin**2005265.0

Lavrans***2005183.0

Skarv2005138.4

Snovhit***2006247.2

Tyrihans2009122.0

* From Norwegian Petroleum Directorate 1999 Annual Report
** Condensate
*** Condensate and Oil

Norwegian crude oil production during year 2000 was 1.1 billion barrels (3.11 million barrels/day). Norway's cumulative production is 13.9 billion barrels. Nearly half of Norway's EUR has been produced and crude oil production will soon go into permanent decline. A recent Oil Market Report (IEA) projected that Norwegian crude oil production will decline ~30,000 b/d in 2001. The production increase in 2000 over 1999 will not be repeated in Norway.

Roger Blanchard
Department of Chemistry
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY 41099-1905