Nyhamna Gas Facility Gets Approval For Expansion

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has approved the expansion of a gas plant in Nyhamna in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway.

The expansion will allow the Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea to increase production by 883 Bcf to 1.1 Tcf (25 X 10⁹ m³ to 30 X 10⁹ m³) of natural gas. It will also increase Nyhamna’s export capacity from 2.5 to 2.9 Bcf (70 to 84 X 10⁶ m³) per day, with the gas moving from the Sleipner A platform in the North Sea to the Easington gas terminal in northeast England.

The project, known as the Nyhamna expansion, consists of two main pieces. The first part involves land-based compression from Ormen Lange. A new compressor will handle gas pressure at Nyhamna as reservoir pressure falls. The second part includes export and process facilities for Polarled. This pipeline will transport natural gas to Nyhamna from the future Aasta Hansteen field.

The Polarled compression and export services are expected to start in the fall of 2018, with gas from the Dvalin field – also going through Polarled – starting up in the fall of 2020.