Development

Hod is a field in the southern part of the Norwegian sector in the North Sea, about 13 kilometres south of the Valhall field. The water depth is 72 metres. Hod was discovered in 1974, and the plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 1988. The field was originally developed with an unmanned wellhead platform, remotely controlled from Valhall. The production started in 1990. A PDO for Hod Saddle was approved in 1994. The production from the original platform ceased in 2013. A PDO for the redevelopment of Hod with a new unmanned wellhead platform (Hod B) tied-in to the Valhall field centre was approved in 2020.

Reservoir

Hod produces oil from chalk in the Upper Cretaceous Tor and Hod Formations and the lower Paleocene Ekofisk Formation. The Tor Formation chalk is fine-grained and soft. Considerable fracturing allows oil and water to flow more easily than in the underlying Hod Formation. The reservoir depth is 2700 metres. The field consists of three structures: Hod West, Hod East and Hod Saddle.

Recovery strategy

The field is produced by pressure depletion. Gas lift has been used in some wells to increase production.

Transport

Oil and gas are transported in a shared pipeline to the Valhall field for further processing. Transport of oil and NGL from Valhall is routed via pipeline to the Ekofisk Centre and further to Teesside in the UK. Gas from Valhall is sent via Norpipe to Emden in Germany.

Status

The production from Hod B started in 2022. The Hod Saddle area is being produced through wells drilled from the Valhall field. The original Hod platform awaits decommissioning within 2026.