Norway’s new Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Tord Lien, officially opened the new 2/4 Z wellhead platform and the Ekofisk South project on 29 October – just four days after the platform entered production.

An enthusiastic Minister of Petroleum (pictured, right)arrived at Ekofisk on the first offshore visit in his new capacity. He received a briefing on the Ekofisk operations and visited several of the facilities, including Ekofisk 2/4 Z and the new Ekofisk 2/4 L field centre and accommodation platform.
 
During his opening remarks, the Minister stressed Ekofisk’s historical significance for Norway’s oil industry and the project delivery two months ahead of schedule and on budget. 

Historic
I’m honoured to be here on Ekofisk on this important day, an historic occasion for Norway. Today, we open a platform that will enable us to produce oil from Ekofisk for another 40 years. This has an important historic aspect. It is my hope that the next period for Ekofisk will be as successful as the previous years,’ Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tord Lien said during the opening ceremony.
Steinar Våge, ConocoPhillips Europe president (pictured, left), thanked all those who had contributed to the success of the Ekofisk South project - the Norwegian authorities, the companies in the Ekofisk license, all suppliers and contractors and, not least, all ConocoPhillips’ own employees involved in the project. He also stressed the cooperation between Aker Solutions and the various departments on the Ekofisk Complex in the offshore completion phase. 

Ekofisk South
Ekofisk 2/4 Z is a wellhead platform with 35 production wells and one well for injection of cuttings. The 2/4 Z platform is, together with the seabed water injection installation Ekofisk 2/4 VB, part of the Ekofisk South project. This project will contribute to an increased oil production of 23-35 SM3 of oil equivalent in the years ahead.