DNO fast-tracks Norwegian discovery with potential 2026 start date

(WO) – DNO ASA announced that a fast-track development concept has been agreed for its 2016 Brasse oil and gas discovery in license PL740 offshore Norway, paving the way for detailed design studies to link up with the Brage field.

The project was restarted in early 2023 as the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, DNO Norge AS, and its new license partner, OKEA ASA, initiated review of a simplified tieback to the Brage platform located 13 km north of Brasse. OKEA took over as Brage operator last fall, and the main commercial terms for the tie-in now have been agreed with the Brage joint venture.

This review has led to approval of a concept selection (DG2) involving a much-reduced topside modification scope on Brage compared to previous considerations of a linkup with a host platform. Well design has also been simplified for a two-well development targeting recovery of up to 30 MMboe from Brasse (estimated two-thirds oil and one-third natural gas and NGL), with a potential start-up as early as 2026.

"Together with OKEA, we have come up with a win-win development concept for Brasse," said Ørjan Gjerde, General Manager DNO North Sea AS. “In addition to finally unlocking profitable barrels from the Brasse discovery itself, the project is expected to materially extend the Brage field’s remaining lifetime," he added.

To maximize synergies with Brage and lower costs, DNO has agreed to the transfer of operatorship of PL740 to OKEA, as well as the 50% interest in Brasse freed up following the exit of a prior license partner.