Development

Embla is a field in the southern part of the Norwegian sector in the North Sea, south of the Eldfisk field. The water depth is 70 metres. Already in 1974, a well tested oil on Embla, but it was not until 1988 that the field was discovered. The plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 1990. The field has been developed with an unmanned wellhead facility, which is remotely controlled from Eldfisk. Production started in 1993. In 1995, an amended PDO for Embla was approved.

Reservoir

Embla produces oil and gas from segmented sandstone and conglomerate of Devonian and Permian age. The reservoir is at a depth of more than 4000 metres and has high pressure and high temperature (HPHT). It has a complex, highly faulted structure.

Recovery strategy

The field is produced by pressure depletion.

Transport

Oil and gas are transported by pipeline to the Eldfisk S facility for processing, and further to the Ekofisk Centre for export. Gas from the Ekofisk area is transported via the Norpipe gas pipeline to Emden in Germany, while the oil is sent via the Norpipe oil pipeline to Teesside in the UK.

Status

In 2022, the production licence 018, which includes the Embla field, was extended until 2048. As part of the Eldfisk II development project, Embla was tied to the Eldfisk S facility, extending the lifetime for Embla. Because of the complexity of the reservoir, there are no plans other than optimising the existing production wells. Currently, there are four active producers.