INTSOK seminar in Indonesia

Introduction
I am pleased to (be here for the second in Indonesia and to) give some closing remarks on the first day of the seminar adressing the issue ”management of the gas value chain”.

Looking at the global picture, there is no doubt that the world needs more energy. This is important to global economic growth, and to get more people out of poverty. At the same time, we need to handle the challenge of climate change. 

Norway is an energy nation. We are the world’s 2^nd largest gas exporter – and the 6^th largest energy exporter. We will continue to be a reliable and stable energy producer for decades to come.

The role of gas
Today, technical solutions on how to manage the extraction and management of gas have been presented. The International Energy Agency, which launched their latest World Energy Outlook (WEO) earlier this month, states that gas is the only fossil fuel for which global demand grows in all scenarios -showing that production of gas fares well under different policy conditions. Natural gas is a fuel for generations to come!  

Gas is a cleaner fuel than other fossil fuels, and offers significant emission reduction potential, particularly in power generation. Fossil fuels will continue to play a substantial part the energy mix for years to come. Conversion to cleaner fuels, like gas, is extremely important. At the same time, we need to develop cost-effective solutions for CCS technology to make necessary emissions reductions.

R&D and technology
Let me say a few words and give some examples of technology we have developed in Norway.

Exploration and exploitation on the Norwegian Continental shelf have been demanding. Fields have often been in deep water or located in remote areas with no infrastructure in place. Technology development has been necessary to make fields economic or if at all possible to develop.

Subsea production systems, multiphase flow over long distances and in deep waters and subsea compression are a few technology areas where Norwegian industry stands out.

Traditionally, oil and gas production will separate oil, gas and water at the wellhead before transportation. This is an expensive solution offshore. In Norway, untreated gas was first transported directly to a gas processing plant on shore in 1996 (Troll Oseberg gas to Kollsnes), a distance of 65 kilometers and the wellhead was at a water depth of 300 meters. At the time, this was a breakthrough after 10 - 15 years of research.

Additional technology advances have since made the development of the fields Snøhvit and Ormen Lange possible. The Snøhvit gas field in the Barents Sea (North in Norway) was discovered in 1984 and the field would have been uneconomic without a subsea solution and multiphase flow. It started to produce in 2007 and supplies our only LNG facility. The wellstream containing natural gas, CO2, NGL (Natural Gas Liquids) and condensate is transported through a 160 kilometers long pipeline to shore (Melkøya) for processing and export. At the Snøhvit field, CO2 from the gas stream is separated and stored before the natural gas is cooled to liquid natural gas. When the Snøhvit field is operating at normal capacity, up to 700 000 tonnes CO2 can be stored each year.

The Ormen Lange Field located further south is developed with 24 wells in three templates at a water depth of 800 – 1100 meters. The well stream which contains gas and condensate is transported in two multi-phase pipelines to an onshore facility (at Nyhamna) where the gas is dried and compressed before it is sent in an export pipeline to Great Britain. The field supplies Great Britain with 20% of its gas demand.

The engagement and interaction between oil companies, industry and research institutions in Norway have been fundamental in finding solutions to technology challenges. I am truly proud of the way these players have interacted and are bringing world class technology and technological solutions to the market.

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Norway and Indonesia have had a fruitful cooperation within the energy field for a long time. The bilateral energy dialogue between our two countries started in 1995. The last meeting took place here in Indonesia in October 2011 (in Yogyakarta). Energy policy, the oil and gas sector, electricity and renewable energy, environment and other issues were discussed. Participants from both the governments and the industry were represented. I appreciate very much the cooperation between the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and my Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

The Norwegian industry sees the opportunities in the Indonesian market. Norway has an industry with world class technology and I believe the industry has a lot to offer with regard to technologies, systems and experience.

I wish you the very best of luck with the second day of “the management of the gas value chain” tomorrow.

Thank you for your attention!