Placing the compressor as close to the wellhead as possible enables us to produce more gas from the well. This is because the compressor’s suction pressure will be lower than if the compressor is installed up on a platform. When the gas is compressed, it will have enough pressure for transport on to the platform.
The plan for the Åsgard and Ormen Lange fields calls for use of a conventional compressor. Here the moisture is removed from the gas before it is compressed on the seabed. On Gullfaks South, the wellstream flows directly into a wellstream mixing module before the total wellstream is compressed. This compression technology has been tested at Framo Engineering AS’ test facilities in Fusa outside Bergen, with a hydrocarbon blend corresponding to the Gullfaks satellites. The compressor test was concluded on 4 May 2011 with good results.