Improved recovery award for creativity, perseverance and appetite for risk

ir-2024 — ON stage to receive the award; Sindre Sørensen (VP Exploration and Reservoir Development, Valhall, Aker BP), Ole Johan Molvig (Director Valhall Area, Aker BP) and Jan Cristian Ellefsen, CEO, Pandion. At the top of the picture is Torgeir Stordal, Director general at the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.

27/08/2024 This year’s Improved Recovery Award goes to the licensees on the Valhall and Hod fields in the North Sea.

These fields have produced almost four times more oil and gas than the estimates in the development plans . The prize goes to Aker BP and Pandion Energy.

The Improved Recovery Award is a recognition of creativity, perseverance and appetite for risk when it comes to applying methods and technology that can improve oil and gas recovery beyond what is expected under existing plans and methods.

The first time the prize was awarded was in 1998. Since 2012, the prize has been awarded during ONS.

Read about the prize and previous winners

The Valhall field was discovered in 1975 and production started in 1982 – then with Amoco as operator. The nearby Hod field started producing in 1990.

Aker BP’s takeover of the operatorship in 2016 marked a change of pace in the further development of Valhall and Hod. Pandion has been an active partner since the company became a licensee in 2017.

Since 2012, the fields have been supplied with power from shore, which has led to significant emission reductions. This is also important for the further development of the fields.

This year’s winners have ambitious plans to implement brand new technology to increase production from tight reservoir formations.The ambition is to produce a further one billion barrels of oil equivalent over the next 40 years.

“The licensees have shown willingness to take risks and to pursue long-term planning to achieve energy-efficient development of these fields. They are accomplishing this by using digital technologies and by cooperating with technology companies and research institutions,” says Torgeir Stordal, Director general of the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.

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