NPD releases 2014 resource counts

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate's resource accounts estimate the total recoverable petroleum resources to be 14.1 billion standard cubic meters (Sm3) of oil equivalents (o.e.).

This represents a slight decline from 2013. 6.4 billion Sm³, or 45% of the total resources, have been sold and delivered.

The total recoverable petroleum resources have decreased by 21 million Sm³ o.e. (0.15%) since 2013. The reason for the decline is that 12 of the discoveries in the previous accounts have been reassessed, and are now considered to have a low likelihood of development.

Reserves

The part of the remaining, proven, recoverable and saleable volumes for which development decisions have been made or which are already in production, is called reserves.

This year's reserve growth totalled 13 million Sm³ o.e., compared with 102 million Sm³ o.e. in 2013. This growth can primarily be explained by the submission of one Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) in 2014, for the 34/10-53 S Rutil discovery in Gullfaks Sør.

The reserve growth for oil was 40 million Sm³, and the gas reserves were reduced by 17 million Sm³ o.e. There was also a decline in the associated liquid products. The Troll, Grane and Ivar Aasen fields contributed the most to the reserve growth for oil. The cause of the reduction in gas reserves was, among other things, greater uncertainty surrounding the implementation of subsea compression on Ormen Lange, so this project was therefore removed from the reserves.

219 million Sm³ o. e. were sold and delivered in 2014. Including the reserve growth of 13 million Sm³ o.e., reserves declined by 206 million Sm³ o.e.

The table below shows fields that were shut down, and fields that started production in 2014, fields under development at the end of last year and fields that are expected to start production in 2015.

Contingent resources

Contingent resources include proven petroleum volumes that are contingent on clarification and decisions before they can be approved for production.

Contingent resources in fields amount to 819 million Sm³ o.e. and have increased by 7 million Sm³ o.e. over the last year.

Contingent resources in discoveries amount to 1121 million Sm³ o.e. 92 discoveries are currently being considered for development. 65% of the resources are oil. The resource estimate for Johan Sverdrup (phases 1 and 2) amounts to 48% of the oil resources in discoveries.

In 2014, oil resources in discoveries increased by 54 million Sm³, while gas resources in discoveries increased by 7 million Sm³ o.e. The growth is from the new discoveries in 2014, minus the resources in the 12 discoveries, included in last year's accounts, which have now been excluded because they will most likely not be developed. The growth from new discoveries is greatest in the Barents Sea, both for oil and gas. Evaluation of the discoveries is in progress, and both the resource estimates and potential developments are uncertain.

Undiscovered resources

The total estimate for undiscovered resources is 2.8 billion Sm³ o.e. The estimate in this year's accounts was reduced by 105 million Sm³ o.e., which corresponds to the volumes proven in new discoveries in 2014. The NPD will prepare a new evaluation of undiscovered resources in 2015.

Figure 1 shows the distribution of the total resources. The resource estimates are uncertain; this is also illustrated in the figure. The total remaining recoverable resources have been estimated at 7.7 billion Sm³ o.e., with a range of uncertainty (P10 - P90) between 5.4 and 11.3 billion Sm³ o.e.

Adapted from a press release by David Bizley

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/03032015/npd-releases-2014-resource-counts/