Norway's Aker BP outlines big potential boost to Grane crude stream as new projects lined up

Norway's Aker BP outlined Feb. 10 several projects likely to boost volumes of the medium-gravity Grane crude blend in the second half of the decade, as the company enjoys surging output from the giant Johan Sverdrup field and the benefit of several assets purchased from Lundin Energy.

The details came in a year-end report showing Aker BP more than doubled its mainly oil-focused production in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier to 432,000 b/d of oil equivalent, on the back of the Lundin deal and the startup of Phase 2 of the giant Johan Sverdrup field in December 2022.

It forecast output in 2023 averaging 430,000-460,000 boe/d.

Despite a glitch in January when the Sverdrup field was hit by a power outage, Aker BP CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik said he was "extremely pleased" with the way Phase 2 had been executed by the operator, state-controlled Equinor.

He went on to acknowledge some uncertainty over eventual Sverdrup volumes after Equinor scaled back its estimate of "plateau" production from the field to 720,000 b/d from 755,000 b/d. Aker BP, which has BP and engineering company Aker as the largest shareholders, holds the second-largest Sverdrup stake.

On fields feeding into the Grane blend, Aker BP outlined several developments that will be routed via the Ivar Aasen and Edvard Grieg platforms, the latter inherited from Lundin.

Aker BP has not said how these will alter the quality of Grane -- previously Norway's most sizable heavy crude source but now producing a lighter crude with a gravity of 31.5 API as the contributing fields have changed. Loading programs for recent months show total Grane loading volumes of between 150,000 b/d and 200,000 b/d.

Under the Utsira High project, targeting 124 million barrels of oil equivalent, Aker BP will tie in the Symra field to the Ivar Aasen platform and the Solveig Phase 2 and Troldhaugen accumulations to the Edvard Grieg platform, both of which feed into Grane. The fields will be started up variously in 2026-27.

The major Yggdrasil project, formerly known as NOAKA, meanwhile targets 650 million boe and will also feed the Grane blend. Aker BP expects it to encompass 55 wells, including 38 subsea wells and 17 drilled from platforms, with startup in 2027.

Yggdrasil "has moved into the execution phase and [is] well into detail engineering. In December... Aker BP entered into Yggdrasil agreements amounting to approximately NOK50 billion ($4.9 billion) with alliance partners and suppliers," the company said.

On the overall industry outlook, Hersvik said inflationary pressures had reduced in relation to international inputs such as steel, but this was offset by continued cost pressures for Norway-specific services and equipment.

The company, which was instrumental in a postponement of Equinor's 500 million boe Wisting project in the Barents Sea in November, said work continued in pursuit of a viable Wisting development, including a possible reconfiguring of the project and additional exploration drilling aimed at improving its viability.

Platts assessed Grane at a 35 cents/b discount to Dated Brent Feb. 9, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data.