TotalFinaElf announces the start-up of the Huldra gas and condensate field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The field is located approximately 150 kilometers northwest of Bergen in a water depth of 125 meters. Huldra will have a daily production of around 10 million cubic meters of gas and 30,000 barrels of condensates, representing 93,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Four wells have been drilled, with two others scheduled for next year. The unmanned Huldra platform is equipped with a processing and separation unit. The gas is sent through the Norwegian transportation system to the continent and the condensates are transported to the Sture terminal near Bergen.

TotalFinaElf (24.33%) is associated with Statoil, the operator (19.66%), Petoro (31.96%), Conoco (23.34%), Paladin Resources (0.5%) and Svenska Petroleum (0.21%).

This project confirms TotalFinaElf’s continued interest in the North Sea, a region where it is already a major player. It will increase the Group’s North Sea daily production, which was 685,000 barrels of oil equivalent in 2000.