The co-owners of Norway's largest producing oilfield have taken the final investment decision on a Nkr13 billion ($1.3 billion) expansion to enhance production.
The third phase of the Johan Sverdrup oilfield development will involve two new subsea templates at the Kvitsoy and Avaldsnes areas with eight wells — seven oil production wells and one water injector — tied back to existing templates and pipelines to the P2 platform for processing and export, the operator Equinor said on Tuesday.
The investment will increase recoverable volumes from the field by 40 million to 50 million barrels of oil equivalent, with production expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2027.
TechnipFMC has been awarded the phase three contract for engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the subsea equipment, with a contract value of about Nkr5.3 billion.
Additional contracts, including platform modifications and the drilling of eight wells, are planned to be awarded later in 2025.
Equinor said it has achieved phase three cost savings of Nkr130 million using artificial intelligence to analyse field layouts and well paths.
The Johan Sverdrup is located in the Utsira High area of the North Sea, 160 kilometres west of Stavanger, in water depths of 110 to 120 metres.
It has production capacity of 755,000 barrels per day of oil, about one-third of Norway’s total crude production at current levels.
The field is powered by electricity from the onshore grid, with carbon dioxide emissions of 0.67 kilograms per barrel of oil produced.
