The Gullfaks field is located in the Tampen area in the northern part of the North Sea, about 180 km west of Sognefjorden. The field was discovered in 1978 and is one of the largest on the Norwegian continental shelf. The geology of the area is complex, with many faults dividing the reservoirs into smaller segments, making production challenging.

Great expectations had been aroused by the “golden block” on Norway’s continental shelf (NCS), and a Norwegian-only partnership was very pleased to be allocated this 34/10 acreage in 1978. But proving Gullfaks was not without its problems. Exploration on the block began in June that year, but it took 10 exploration wells – together with a dramatic “kick” and a blowout – before operator Statoil could declare the discovery commercial.

In the early 1980s, Statoil made a decisive technological choice by committing to diverless subsea wells on Gullfaks A. This marked the start of a new era for Norwegian subsea technology and represented an important step toward safer and more efficient operations on the Norwegian continental shelf.

On 8 April 2008, production from Gulltopp finally started. The well has been described as the most complicated in Statoil’s history. The drilling crew spent 991 days reaching the target. The well is nearly ten kilometres long and runs almost entirely horizontally.

By using four dimensions, geologists and other professionals can observe how oil and water move deep beneath the seabed and capture it where it hides. The first to use the fourth dimension – that was Gullfaks.

Much has been written about Gullfaks, but a simple overview linking the build phase, the actors, the locations, and the chronology for the platforms has been missing. Here is such an overview, which also includes alternatives for the decommissioning phase. Statoil/Equinor has from the start been the development and operations operator.

The feasibility study for Block 34/10, submitted to the authorities on November 20, 1980, outlined several potential development solutions for the field. None of these were identical to how the field was ultimately developed.

The investment costs associated with developing the Gullfaks field ended up being lower than what the licence holders had projected back in 1980—mainly because the idea of a fourth platform, Gullfaks D, was eventually abandoned.

Question: What is the key to success when you're building a platform? Answer: preparation, preparation, preparation. One crucial piece of prep that saved both time and money was the engineering model - built at large scale.

How would wind, currents, and waves affect the platforms and loading buoys? To avoid surprises, models were built, and tests were carried out.

The awarding of block 34/10 in June 1978 marked a historic turning point in Norwegian petroleum history. For the first time, both the operator and all licensees on a field were Norwegian companies. Statoil received an 85 percent ownership share and operatorship, with Hydro and Saga as partners. This became Statoil’s trial by fire as a development operator – and the beginning of a project that would leave a lasting mark on Norway’s oil history.

When the Norwegian Parliament approved Gullfaks in 1981, Statoil was given responsibility for two giant projects. Within a few years, the company would build two of the world’s largest platforms.

Platforms with concrete gravity base structures, also known as Condeep platforms, quite literally form a centre of gravity in Norwegian petroleum history. Gullfaks and Statfjord play key roles in that story.

The development of Gullfaks A marked a turning point for Norwegian industry. Through a deliberate contract strategy and the use of EPC contracts, Statoil enabled Norwegian companies to take a leading role in the platform’s development. This initiative signaled the beginning of a new era for Norway’s supplier industry.

With the Gullfaks project, Statoil took deliberate steps to adapt technical requirements to Norwegian industry. This marked the beginning of a Norwegianization process that strengthened the competitiveness of the domestic yard industry and reduced costs.

When planning for Gullfaks A began, drilling and drilling equipment were considered an area in which American suppliers had a solid grip, and where there was little hope of challenging their dominance. Nevertheless, there were Norwegian players with ambitions to change this situation.