The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has approved the Plan for development and operation (PDO) for Kobra East & Gekko (KEG) in the Alvheim area.

The Operator Aker BP and licence partners ConocoPhillips Skandinavia and Lundin Energy Norway submitted the PDO to the Ministry in June last year (Link).

The KEG development will contribute to extend the lifetime of the Alvheim field, improve production and reduce unit costs.

Total investments in the project are projected at around NOK 8 billion (appr. USD 1 billion) and production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2024. Recoverable reserves in KEG are now estimated at around 50 million barrels of oil equivalents (mmboe).

The development comprises the two discoveries Kobra East and Gekko in licence 203. The field will be developed with subsea installations connected to the production vessel on the Alvheim field (Alvheim FPSO), which is located in the Norwegian part of the central North Sea near the UK border.

It is expected that CO2 emissions per barrel will be cut in half and oil production from the Alvheim FPSO will double when KEG comes on stream.

About Aker BP

Aker BP is a fully-fledged E&P company with exploration, development, and production activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Aker BP is the operator of Alvheim, Ivar Aasen, Skarv, Valhall, Hod, Ula and Tambar. The company is also a partner in the Johan Sverdrup field. Aker BP’s CO2 intensity (below 5kg CO2/boe in Q2 2020) is less than a third of the global industry average, and well below the average for Norwegian continental shelf operators. Aker BP is headquartered at Fornebu, Norway, and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker AKERBP.

About ConocoPhillips

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) had operations and activities in 14 countries, $87 billion of total assets, and approximately 9,900 employees at Sept. 30, 2021. Production excluding Libya averaged 1,514 MBOED for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2021, and proved reserves were 4.5 BBOE as of Dec. 31, 2020.

About Lundin Energy

Lundin Energy is an experienced Nordic oil and gas company that explores for, develops and produces resources economically, efficiently and responsibly. We focus on value creation for our shareholders and wider stakeholders through three strategic pillars: Resilience, Sustainability and Growth. Our high quality, low cost assets mean we are resilient to oil price volatility, and our organic growth strategy, combined with our sustainable approach and commitment to decarbonisation, firmly establishes our leadership role in a lower carbon energy future. (Nasdaq Stockholm: LUNE).