The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has given Sval Energy (Sval) consent to use the facilities on the Vale field beyond their original lifespan. In May 2021, the Petroleum Safety Authority gave consent to extend the use of facilities on the Vale field. This consent is valid until 11 June 2023.
Sval has applied for a short extension for this consent, which we have now granted. The new consent is valid until 1 October 2023.
Vale
Vale is a field in the North Sea, 16 kilometres north of the Heimdal field. The water depth is 115 metres. Vale was discovered in 1991, and the plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 2001. The field is developed with a subsea template including one horizontal production well with a single side track, tied-back to the Heimdal facility. Production started in 2002.
What does producing life extension involve?
New technology and operating methods as well as measures to improve oil and gas recovery mean that licensees often want to keep existing facilities working past their retirement date.
In many cases, continuing to use facilities beyond their design life makes socio-economic sense. But permitting such extensions at the expense of safety is not acceptable.
