Production capacity at Norway's Aasta Hansteen gas field was cut yesterday afternoon, while maintenance at the Gullfaks field that was planned for today has been pushed back again and shortened.
Unplanned constraints at Aasta Hansteen are expected to reduce available capacity by 4mn m³/d, Norwegian offshore system operator Gassco said this morning.
The duration of the cuts was unclear as of 12:00 local time.
Annual maintenance at the field was postponed last week to 16-17 June from 8-9 June. The scheduled works next week are expected to restrict output capacity by 25mn m³/d, which could bring production near zero.
Aasta Hansteen monthly offtake peaked at 25.6mn m³/d in December 2019. Individual field data is only available up to March, when production was 24.3mn m³/d (see graph).
The field came on line in December 2018 and has helped offset long-term output declines at other fields.
Output from Aasta Hansteen is shipped through the Polarled pipeline to the Nyhamna processing plant, and can be delivered to either the UK or continental Europe.
Gullfaks maintenance postponed once again
Works scheduled for today at Norway's Gullfaks field have been shortened and pushed back to later this week.
"Corrective maintenance" that is expected to limit production capacity by 7mn m³/d is now scheduled to start at around 21:30 on 12 June and to be lifted again at the start of the 13 June gas day.
The maintenance was initially planned for 3-7 June but has been shortened and pushed back a number of times.
Production could be significantly curbed during maintenance as field offtake was 14.4mn m³/d in March, data show.
