Norwegian oil and gas major Statoil ASA said it has started the construction of a research centre that will focus on improving recovery rates from fields on the Norwegian continental shelf.

 

The centre will cost around 240 million kroner ($41.7 million), is due for completion towards the end of 2013 and is part of Statoil's plans to improve the rate of recovery from its wells.

 

"This centre will be unique. Statoil leads the world in increased recovery, exceeding in 2011 for the first time an average recovery rate of 50% from our oil fields on the Norwegian continental shelf. This research centre will play a central role in helping us realize our ambition of a 60% rate," says Statoil CEO Helge Lund.

 

The new research centre will support the company by providing new technology and new methods to help maximize production on the fields where Statoil is operator or partner – on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) and internationally.

 

The centre, which is being built adjacent to Statoil’s research centre at Rotvoll in Trondheim, will consist of four floors that prioritize areas of technology such as drilling and well, reservoir mapping and advanced injection techniques. The heart of the roughly 2,700 square meter large centre will be an industrial CT scanner that is 100 times more powerful than a medical CT scanner.

 

"We’ve already had a number of activities at the research centre designed to develop new technologies, but by gathering all these activities in the one place, gaining access to the world's most advanced CT scanners and specially designed laboratories dedicated to increased recovery, we will be establishing a powerful centre that will enable us to maximize added value," says head of research Karl Johnny Hersvik.

 

The global oil recovery rate is roughly 35%. The NCS as a whole has an average recovery rate of 47%. In 2011 Statoil achieved a recovery rate on its oil fields of 50%. That is almost one per cent up on the previous year and equivalent to 327 million barrels of oil, or an added value of more than NOK 200 billion, given an oil price of USD 100 per barrel.

 

Over 3,000 people in Statoil are engaged every single day in 300 activities related to increased recovery. The drilling of new wells and the maintenance of existing wells make the foremost contribution to increased recovery. The more wells we drill, the greater the oil reservoirs we can access.