| Gullfaks | |
| Location Map: | North Sea |
| Coordinates: | 61.215°N 2.28°W |
| Relief: | yes |
| Country: | Norway |
| Location: | North Sea |
| Block: | 34/10 |
| Offonshore: | offshore |
| Operator: | Equinor |
| Partners: | Petoro |
| Discovery: | 1978 |
| Start Production: | 1986 |
| Peak Year: | 2001 |
| Oil Production Bbl/D: | 39000 |
| Production Year Oil: | 2013 http://www.npd.no/en/Publications/Facts/Facts-2013/Chapter-10/Gullfaks/ |
| Est Oil Bbl: | 73 |
| Peakofproduction: | 180000oilbbl/d |
Gullfaks is an oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea operated by Equinor. It was discovered in 1978, in block 34/10, at a water depth of 130-230 meters.[1] The initial recoverable reserve is, and the remaining recoverable reserve in 2004 is . This oil field reached peak production in 2001 at . It has satellite fields Gullfaks South, Rimfaks, Skinfaks and Gullveig.
The project consists of three production platforms Gullfaks A (1986), Gullfaks B (1988), and Gullfaks C (1989).[1] Gullfaks C sits below the waterline and the height of the total structure measured from the sea floor is,[2] making it taller than the Eiffel Tower. Gullfaks C holds the record [3] of the heaviest object that has ever been moved to another position, relative to the surface of the Earth with a total displacement between 1.4 and 1.5 million tons.[4] The platform produces 250000oilbbl/d of oil. The Tordis field, which is located southeast of Gullfaks C, has a subsea separation manifold installed in 2007 which is tied-back to the existing Gullfaks infrastructure.[5] [6]
| Type | Concrete gravity platform | Concrete gravity platform | Concrete gravity platform | |
| Function | Drilling, production, storage, accommodation | Drilling, production, accommodation | Drilling, production, accommodation | |
| Location | SW part of field | NW part of field | ||
| Water depth, metres | 135 | 142 | 216 | |
| Fabrication substructure | Norwegian Contractors Stavanger | Norwegian Contractors Stavanger | Norwegian Contractors Stavanger | |
| Topsides design | Aker Engineering and Foster Wheeler | Aker Engineering and Foster Wheeler | ||
| Substructure weight, tonnes | 340,000 | 173,000 | 370,000 | |
| Topside weight, tonnes | 40,000 | 25,000 | 49,000 | |
| Accommodation (crew) | 330 | 160 | 300 | |
| Legs | 4 | 3 | 4 | |
| Cells | 24 | 19 | 24 | |
| Storage capacity, barrels | 180,000 | Nil | ||
| Well slots | 42 | 42 | ||
| Wells | 21 production, 17 injection | 20 production, 13 injection | ||
| Throughput oil, barrels per day (bpd) | 245,000 | 150,000 | ||
| Water injection, bpd | 4 x 95,000 | 95,000 | ||
| Platform installed | 1986 | 1987 | May 1989 | |
| Production start | 1987 | 1988 | January 1990 | |
| Oil production to | 2 x SPM buoys (8,400 m3/hour) | Gullfaks A | ||
| Gas production to | Statfjord C | Statfjord C |
Between November 2009 and May 2010 a well being drilled from Gullfaks C experienced multiple well control incidents which were investigated by Petroleum Safety Authority Norway and summarized in a report released on 19 November 2010. The report stated that only chance prevented the final and most serious incident on 19 May 2010 from becoming a full-scale disaster. The report also questioned why the Statoil’s probe that was supposed to assess which barriers functioned "and thereby helped to prevent or limit the hazard" did not seem to have been assessed.[8]
On 29, April 2016, a helicopter carrying oil workers crashed while flying from the Gullfaks oil field to Bergen. All 13 people on board were killed.[9]
The reservoir consists of delta sandstones from the Middle Jurassic Brent Group, shallow-marine Lower Jurassic Cook Formation sandstones, and the fluvial-channel and delta-plain Lower Jurassic Statfjord Formation.[1]