OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s StatoilHydro and partners plan to invest about $2 billion for further development of the big Troll oil and gas field, aiming to boost oil recovery and maintain gas exports, StatoilHydro said on Friday.

“The new development plan is an overall description of our plans for the oil production at Troll and provides for profitable oil production through 2030,” StatoilHydro said in a statement.
“The Troll partners’ new plan has an investment limit of almost 10 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.98 billion),” StatoilHydro said.
StatoilHydro is the operator and has a 30.58 percent stake. Its partners in Troll are Norway’s state-owned Petoro with 56 percent, Shell with 8.1 percent, France’s Total with 3.69 percent and ConocoPhillips with 1.62 percent.
The plan will also result in increased production opportunities at neighbouring fields, as Troll processing capacity available for a longer period than earlier expected, Hege Marie Norheim, head of StatiolHydro’s reserve and business development on the Norwegian shelf, said in the statement.
Troll, which came on stream in 1996 and holds 60 percent of the gas reserves on the Norwegian shelf, is the biggest gas field in the North Sea. It is also one of Norway’s biggest oilfields.
Before Statoil’s takeover of Norsk Hydro’s petroleum assets last year, the Troll partners had trouble agreeing on further development because Statoil operated the gas production and Hydro the oil, which meant conflicting interests.
StatoilHydro is now overall operator.
StatoilHydro shares traded up 0.5 percent at 183.40 crowns by 1055 GMT, against the trend of a falling Oslo bourse but underperforming a higher DJ Stoxx European oil and gas index.
----------------------------Improve oil recovery
The plan for development and operation submitted to the Oil and Energy Ministry aims to improve oil recovery on Troll West while maintaining current gas export capacity from Troll East at 120 million standard cubic metres per day, the company said.
Gas production capacity will be kept at that level until a need for further compressor capacity arises due to a drop in reservoir pressure, it said.
The plan includes a new gas injection plant for improved oil recovery at Troll B, a new gas pipeline from the Troll A platform to the Kollsnes gas-processing plant, and replacement of production pipes in gas wells running to Troll A.
“Gas injection in Troll West will increase the oil reserves at Troll by 17 million barrels,” Statoil Hydro said.
The offshore modifications are scheduled to start this year and the gas injection plant will be in place by the turn of 2011-12, the company said.
The new rich gas pipeline designed to maintain the daily gas production capacity will come on stream in 2011, it said.