Norwegian exploration companies need to make a bigger commitment toward extending oil recovery from mature offshore fields such as the Snorre development, according to a senior industry figure.

Bente Nyland, director general of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), said the Snorre field offers the prospect for bigger reserves recovery than some of the country’s more recent discoveries. She urges exploration companies to consider undertaking more extended oil recovery (EOR) investment to capture that additional wealth.

Writing in the latest edition of the NPD’s newsletter, Nyland said there should be a more long-term approach to field investment decisions that take into account EOR activity.

Nyland pointed out Snorre is thought to have up to 250 MMbbl of oil that could be recovered, and it ranks as the field with the second largest remaining reserves on the Norwegian Continental Shelf after the Ekofisk field.

“That is more than the oil output we expect from the Goliat development in the Barents Sea,” she said. “This is why we regard Snorre as so important – because of the big asset it represents for Norwegian society.”

“Along with Snorre and other reservoirs with large remaining reserves, we also give priority to strategically important smaller fields where a big commitment can create great value for both society – and the companies,” she added.

“This job is demanding,” Nyland said. “Maintaining planned production is a challenge on a number of fields. At the same time, we ask the companies to look at opportunities for getting out more oil than originally expected.”

Snorre field owners are currently considering a major new investment in the field involving a new platform, on which a final decision is anticipated next year.

“Today’s project has been dubbed Snorre 2040 – a reminder that recovering all commercial resources in a field calls for long-term work. Snorre was discovered in 1979 and came onstream 13 years later,” Nyland continued, adding, “It should be worthy of the Snorre 2040 designation.”