It has been developed with three large concrete production platforms. Oil is loaded directly into shuttle tankers on the field, while associated gas is piped to the Karsto gas treatment plant north of Stavanger and then on to continental Europe.The Gullfaks A platform began production on 22 December 1986, with Gullfaks B following on 29 February 1988 and the C platform on 4 November 1989.Since June 1994, Gullfaks C has received and processed oil from the Tordis field. Gullfaks A is used for storing and exporting stabilised crude from the Vigdis and Visund fields. The recovery factor on Gullfaks is 59 per cent, but the goal is to increase into 62 per cent. Measures to improve recovery include horizontal and extended-reach wells, new completion and sand control technology, and water alternating gas (WAG) injection. Three satellite fields, Gullfaks South, Rimfaks and Gullveig, have been developed with subsea wells remotely controlled from the Gullfaks A and C platforms. A total of 10 subsea templates are tied back via flowlines to the Gullfaks A and C platforms. The Gullfaks satellites development is split into two phases, with Phase I, embracing oil output from all three fields, starting production on 10 October 1998. Phase II covers recovery of gas from Gullfaks South and via Gullfaks A and C, it came on stream in October 2001. Forming part of the satellite development, the Gullfaks Gas Export pipeline was opened in March 2001. The investment in Gullfaks satellites is around NOK 19.4 billion. The production (in 2004) is 67.000 barrels per day of oil; 3.21 billion scm of gas; and 0.35 million tonnes of NGL. Gullfaks South, which also includes the separate Rimfaks and Gullveig structures, is a satellite to Gullfaks and lies in the water depth of 135m. The licensees have pursued a phased development of Gullfaks South. Gullfaks South phase I embraces the production of oil and condensate. Associated gas is injected back into the reservoirs. This phase comprises eight subsea installations tied back to Gullfaks A for processing, storage and loading of oil and condensate. Phase II embraces production and export of the gas resources and associated liquids. The development solution is based on subsea installations tied back to Gullfaks A and C. Gas production from Gullfaks South began in the autumn of 2001. After processing, rich gas is transported to Karsto via a pipeline which ties into Statpipe. After removal of the NGL, dry gas is piped on to continental Europe. Oil and condensate are stabilised, stored and loaded by existing facilities on the platforms. In connection with phase II, Gullfaks C has been upgraded to expand its gas processing and export capacity. A corresponding upgrade implemented on the A platform in the autumn of 2003.
Gullfaks South, Rimfaks and Gullveig Oil, North Sea, Equinor, Europe(North),