Goliat approved by Norwegian Parliament
The Goliat Field
The Norwegian Storting (Parliament) has approved the Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for the Eni-operated Goliat field in tha Barents Sea. This is going to be one of the biggest in northern Norway ever and local politicians hope the project will make as many as 600 new jobs, NRK reports.
The approval is a key milestone for the Goliat license and a further step in the realization of the first ever oil field development in the Barents Sea. Goliat is a strategic project for Eni and will be developed with state of the art technology in order to minimize emissions in an environmentally important area.
The Goliat field will be developed using subsea wells linked to a circular floating production, storage and offloading facility (FPSO). Use of the circular FPSO makes it possible to utilize electricity supplied from shore combined with a gas turbine for power and heat on the offshore facility. This will result in significantly lower levels of CO2 emissions.
The project has been made robust through the selection of proven technical development solutions and by enhancing and strengthening the coastal oil spill contingency plans.
Eni has decided to locate its regional office in Hammerfest. The supply and helicopter base will also be located in the Hammerfest area. Together with the offshore organization, these operations will initially require between 150-200 direct jobs during the operations phase. In addition, a significant number of indirect jobs will be created through purchases of good and services.
The Goliat field is located in blocks 7122/7,8,9,10 and 7123/7, and was discovered in 2000 when the first exploration well was drilled. Reserves are estimated to approximately 180 million barrels of oil equivalents of oil and gas. The total Goliat investments are estimated to approximately NOK 28 billion in 2008 money. The planned start-up for the project is 4Q 2013.
Through its subsidiary Eni Norge, Eni is one of the major companies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Eni Norge was established in Norway in 1965, and has a daily production of approximately 130,000 barrels (of oil equivalents). Eni Norge is operator of 15 licenses and has ownership interest in 52 licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Source: Eni Norge
