Jotun is a oil field located around 25 kilometres north of Balder in the central North Sea. Water depth is 126 metres. The field has been developed using an accommodation, production and storage vessel, Jotun A (FPSO), and a wellhead facility, Jotun B.
What does producing life extension involve?
New technology and operating methods as well as measures to improve oil and gas recovery mean that licensees often want to keep existing facilities working past their retirement date.
In many cases, continuing to use facilities beyond their design life makes socio-economic sense. But permitting such extensions at the expense of safety is not acceptable.
Production began in 1999 and was expected to finish in 2015. ExxonMobil, the field's operator, now estimates that Jotun will be able to produce until around 2021, and has accordingly applied for consent for continued use.
A consent for use beyond the originally planned lifetime entails that the PSA is of the opinion that the applicant has demonstrated having oversight of the technical conditions and has plans for maintenance and follow-up, such that the facilities and equipment may continue to be operated in compliance with regulatory requirements.