Development

Aasta Hansteen is a field in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea, 120 km northwest of the Norne field. The water depth in the area is 1,270 metres. Aasta Hansteen was discovered in 1997 and the plan for development and production (PDO) was approved in 2013. The field is developed with a spar platform, a floating installation with a cylindrical column moored to the seabed. The development also includes two subsea templates with four slots each and two subsea templates with one slot each (satellites). The subsea templates are tied-back to the spar platform through pipelines and steel catenary risers. In 2017, Aasta Hansteen was granted a PDO exemption for the development of the Snefrid Nord deposit. Production started in December 2018.

Reservoir

The main reservoirs contain gas in Upper Cretaceous sandstone in the Nise Formation, at a depth of 3,000 metres. The reservoir quality is good.

Recovery

The field is produced by pressure depletion and natural aquifer drive.

Transport

Gas from Aasta Hansteen is transported via the Polarled pipeline to the Nyhamna terminal. Light oil is offloaded to shuttle tankers and transported to the market.

Status

The installation was towed to the field in early 2018. All production wells were pre-drilled in 2018 and production started in December the same year. The production from Snefrid Nord is expected to start up in late 2019, when subsea equipment is installed. Aasta Hansteen is considered a possible host for nearby discoveries after the field has gone off plateau production.