Lundin Petroleum reports that its wholly owned subsidiary Lundin Norway AS as operator has, with its partners Wintershall Norge ASA and RWE Dea Norge AS, submitted a plan for development and operation for the Luno field to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. Lundin Petroleum is in ongoing negotiations with Det norske Oljeselskap ASA, operator of license PL001B, in relation to a coordinated development solution for the Luno and Draupne fields and we expect an agreement to be concluded shortly.

The Luno field is an oil field located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea which incorporates both the Luno and Tellus discoveries. First production from the Luno field in PL338 is expected in late 2015 with a forecast gross peak production of approximately 90,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). The capital cost of the Luno development including platform, pipelines and production wells is estimated at USD 4 billion. The Luno platform design capacity will accommodate in excess of 120,000 bopd when Draupne production is combined with that from the Luno field.

The Luno PDO includes 15 wells drilled from a jack-up rig, a processing platform on a jacket structure and export pipelines tied back to existing infrastructure. Luno contains 186 million barrels of oil equivalents (MMboe) of gross proved and probable reserves. The oil will be processed and transported in a new pipeline to the Grane area and further via the Grane oil pipeline to the Sture terminal for sale. The facilities on the Luno platform will be prepared for power from shore when capacity and technical solutions are available in order to contribute to the development of a long term electrification of the area.

The Draupne discovery is located 10 km to the northwest of Luno in PL001B. The proposed development solution for the Draupne field is a platform which will transport partly processed oil and gas to the Luno platform for stabilization and export of oil and gas.

At the same time as submitting the PDO to the Ministry, Lundin Petroleum has started placing contracts for the Luno development. A letter of intent has been awarded to Kvaerner after an international tendering process, covering engineering, procurement and construction of the jacket for the Luno platform. A contract has been awarded to Rowan Companies Inc. for a jack-up rig to drill the Luno development wells. Contracts for the topside and marine installations will be awarded in due course.

Ashley Heppenstall, president and CEO of Lundin Petroleum comments as follows; "The submittal of the Luno plan of development is a major milestone for Lundin Petroleum. Production from the Luno field will be the major contributor in doubling our production to 70,000 boepd by late 2015. Our production will increase further with the subsequent development of the Johan Sverdrup discovery located in the southern Utsira High."

Tags: Lundin Petroleum