Norway October crude output rises to 3.16m bpd

Norway's oil output rose 6.7 per cent in October from September, boosted by a sharp rise from the Ekofisk pipeline system and a resumption of output after maintenance shutdowns, a Reuters survey showed yesterday.

Wellhead production rose to 3.16 million barrels per day (bpd) from 2.96 million bpd in September, mainly lifted by increased output at the Ekofisk, Statfjord and Snorre oilfields, according to the poll of oil operators.

The North Sea Ekofisk system, operated by Phillips Petroleum, saw the biggest month-on-month increase, with production surging 49,000 bpd to 350,000 bpd. "It was mainly general operational improvements and gas injection at the field which boosted production," said Phillips spokeswoman Torunn Mo.

Among several fields which had been hit by maintenance closures in September, Norsk Hydro's Snorre saw output double from a month earlier to 149,000 bpd in October, following a two-week shutdown period.

Production at Statoil's Statfjord field rose to 211,000 bpd from 190,000 with the Norwegian share - about 85.5 per cent - increasing to 180,000 bpd from 163,000.

"We had an about two-week maintenance period at Statfjord in September, which hit production. That is why production turned out to be much higher in October," Statoil spokeswoman Else Kathrine Nesmoen said.

Among fields which limited the overall production rise in October was Statoil's Gullfaks, which saw output fall by almost 50,000 bpd to about 240,000 bpd, hit by a maintenance shutdown, Nesmoen said.

Norsk Hydro's Tordis, which oil goes via Gullfaks, also saw a big cut in output to 29,000 bpd from 77,000. Statoil was forced to suspend loadings at both Gullfaks and Statfjord oilfields in late October, due to a storm, but was able to restart after less than a day as the weather improved.

Norwegian oil unions last week called off a threatened strike, which would have shut Statoil's 600,000 bpd Mongstad oil terminal and caused problems for Norsk Hydro's oil platforms Troll B and C, after agreeing a deal with employers. Norway is the world's top non-OPEC oil exporter, pumping on average about 3.2 million bpd.