Frigg gas field is a natural gas field on Norwegian block 25/1Heritier et al, 1980, p. 59 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 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 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 of water.Heritier et al, 1980, p. 60 The well was located following interpretation of a 15 by 20 km grid of Reflection seismology lines recorded in 1965. 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 in area with a gas column in Lower Eocene sandstones forming an abyssal fan in the Viking Structural basin. 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.Heritier et al, 1980, p. 65
Development The Frigg field has been developed through a number of offshore platforms. +Frigg installationsPlatformCoordinatesFunctionTypeLegsWell slotsInstalledProduction startProduction toFrigg DP159°52’40”N 02°04’48”EDrilling platformSteel jacket8?October 1974 buoyancy tanks collapsed damaged beyond recovery––Frigg CDP159°52’31”N 02°03’42”EDrilling, productionConcrete gravity124September 1975September 1977TP1Frigg TP159°52’47”N 02°03’51”ETreatmentConcrete gravity2–June 1976September 1977MCP01Frigg QP59°52’42”N 02°03’54”EQuarters platformSteel jacket4–July 1975––Frigg DP259°53’10”N 02°04’21”EDrilling, productionSteel jacket824May 1976August 1978TCP2Frigg TCP259°52’48”N 02°04’01”ETreatment, compressionConcrete gravity3–June 1977August 1978MCP01, DP2Frigg MCP-0158°49’39”N 00°17’12”EManifold, compressionConcrete gravity1–June 1976September 1977St FergusFrigg flare platform FP59°52’54”N 02°03’21”EFlareArticulated steel1–October 1975December 1977From TP1Frigg NE59°59’07”N 02°14’52”EField control stationSteel tower, concrete base6 subsea treesJune 1981December 1983TCP2
Pipelines
Pipelines associated with the Frigg field are as follows: +Frigg field pipelinesStartTerminalLengthDiameterTypeTP1 / TCP2MCP-012 × 186 km32”GasMCP-01St Fergus2 × 174 km32”GasCDP1TP12 × 500 m26”GasCDP1TP1500 m4”CondensateTP1CDP1500 m8”KillDP2TCP22 × 700 m26”GasDP2TCP2700 m4” CondensateTCP2DP2700 m8”KillTP1FP500 m24”GasTP1FP500 m–Gas air pilotSubsea templateTCP218 km16”GasTCP2NEF18 km1.25”MethanolFCSTemplate500 feet2”Kill
Pipelines connected to the Frigg field Frigg UK System - natural gas transportation system from the Alwyn North Field in the North Sea via the Frigg field to St. Fergus near Peterhead in Scotland. The Frigg UK System is operated by Total E&P UK Plc. 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
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.
References
Bibliography
External links
Frigg Industrial Heritage - a website by the Norwegian Petroleum Museum, English version Frigg decommissioning - at the website of Total E&P Norge Frigg UK: 30 Years on Frigg in Interactive Energy Map