Wintershall Dea has begun drilling four production wells on the Dvalin gas field in the Norwegian Sea, getting ready for the start of production in 2020, the company said on Aug. 12.

The Dvalin Field will strengthen Wintershall Dea’s position as one of the largest gas exporters from Norway.

Drilling of the production wells from the Transocean Arctic rig is expected to last approximately one year and follows an intense summer of activity around the Wintershall Dea operated Dvalin development.

Since April there has been high activity at the Dvalin Field with installation of pipelines and the manifold at 400 m (1,312 ft) water depth. In August, a 3,500 tonne processing module was completed and lifted on to the nearby Heidrun platform in preparation for receiving gas from the Dvalin Field. The field is located 259 km (160 miles) north of Kristiansund in mid Norway.

“A summer of activity topped off with the start of drilling on the key Dvalin project is a potent sign of the belief we have in Norway, and the resources we are prepared to invest to reach our ambitions. The Dvalin team has worked tirelessly from day one to deliver a smooth, timely, and most of all safe project to date,” said Hugo Dijkgraaf, Wintershall Dea chief technology officer.

Dvalin is being developed as a subsea field tied back to Heidrun, which lies some 15 km (9 miles) to the northwest. The four wells will be drilled to a depth of around 4,500 m (14,763 ft).

The design philosophy for the wells has focused strongly on HSEQ, in line with the whole Dvalin project to date. The drilling team aims to maintain the project record of having no serious incidents.

Offshore