Frigg gas field is a natural gas field on Norwegian block 25/1[1] in the North Sea, on the boundary between the United Kingdom and Norway. The field is named after the goddess Frigg. King Olav V of Norway officially opened production on 8 May 1978. Production was closed on 26 October 2004. The field is situated 230 kilometres (140 mi) northwest of Stavanger. Operator for the field was the French oil company Elf Aquitaine, which merged and changed name to Total S.A.
Operations were regulated according to an agreement between the UK and Norwegian governments called the Frigg Treaty.
Infrastructural changes were made in three phases:
Phase I - 1977
Phase II - 1978
Phase III - 1981
Geology
The field was discovered at a depth of 1,850 metres (6,070 ft) by the Petronord group (Elf Aquitaine, Total Oil Marine Norsk, and Norsk Hydro) and the Norwegian State in 1971 with Well 25/1-1 using the Semi-submersible Neptune P 81 in 100 metres (330 ft) of water.[2] The well was located following interpretation of a 15 by 20 km grid of Reflection seismology lines recorded in 1965.[2] A 5 by 5 km finer grid of seismic lines were recorded in 1969, followed by a 1 by 1 km grid in 1973, which, combined with four appraisal wells, determined the field was 115 square kilometres (44 sq mi) in area with a 170-metre (560 ft) gas column in Lower Eocenesandstones forming an abyssal fan in the Viking Structural basin.[2] The fan structure appears on seismic sections as a low relief Anticline that includes a Flat spot caused by the Density contrast of the gas.[3]
Development
The Frigg field has been developed through a number of offshore platforms.[4]
Frigg installations
Platform
Coordinates
Function
Type
Legs
Well slots
Installed
Production start
Production to
Frigg DP1
59°52’40”N 02°04’48”E
Drilling platform
Steel jacket
8
?
October 1974 buoyancy tanks collapsed damaged beyond recovery
–
–
Frigg CDP1
59°52’31”N 02°03’42”E
Drilling, production
Concrete gravity
1
24
September 1975
September 1977
TP1
Frigg TP1
59°52’47”N 02°03’51”E
Treatment
Concrete gravity
2
–
June 1976
September 1977
MCP01
Frigg QP
59°52’42”N 02°03’54”E
Quarters platform
Steel jacket
4
–
July 1975
–
–
Frigg DP2
59°53’10”N 02°04’21”E
Drilling, production
Steel jacket
8
24
May 1976
August 1978
TCP2
Frigg TCP2
59°52’48”N 02°04’01”E
Treatment, compression
Concrete gravity
3
–
June 1977
August 1978
MCP01, DP2
Frigg MCP-01
58°49’39”N 00°17’12”E
Manifold, compression
Concrete gravity
1
–
June 1976
September 1977
St Fergus
Frigg flare platform FP
59°52’54”N 02°03’21”E
Flare
Articulated steel
1
–
October 1975
December 1977
From TP1
Frigg NE
59°59’07”N 02°14’52”E
Field control station
Steel tower, concrete base
6 subsea trees
June 1981
December 1983
TCP2
The initial production of gas (in 1000 standard cubic metres) was:[4]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Pipelines
Pipelines associated with the Frigg field are as follows:[4]
Vesterled - mostly the former Frigg Norwegian Pipeline.
Gas production from the Odin gas field was transported to Frigg TCP2 by a 26 km 20-inch pipeline.
Images
Bridge from the Frigg field outside the Norwegian Petroleum Museum in Stavanger
Future plans
The Frigg field may be revitalised. A production licence on the Norwegian side of Frigg was allocated to Equinor in 2016. An appraisal well was drilled on Frigg in 2019. Equinor also holds the licence rights on the UK side of the field.[5]
Heritier, F E; Lossel, P; Wathne, E (1980). "Frigg Field-Large Submarine-Fan Trap in Lower Eocene Rocks of the Viking Graben, North Sea". In Halbouty, Michel Thomas (ed.). Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade:1968–1978. AAPG Memoir 30. Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists. ISBN0891813063. OCLC7355859.
