Equinor and its partners have agreed on the concept for Ringvei Vest, a large subsea development project linked to the Troll B platform in the Norwegian North Sea.
This marks an important milestone in the maturation of the project and establishes a development solution for seven discoveries and one prospect, paving the way for a potential common field development.
'We estimate that Ringvei Vest will contribute 240 million barrels of oil equivalent. A solid effort has been put in over a long period, and I am confident that together with partners and authorities, we have arrived at the best development solution, which also ensures optimal resource utilisation' says Kjetil Hove, executive vice president for exploration and production Norway in Equinor.
The discoveries included in the project are Grosbeak, Swisher, Mulder, Kveikje, Toppand, Røver Sør, and Røver Nord. In addition, the prospect Grønngylt is included. The resources are spread across eight licences with a total of seven owners.
As the operator in all the licences, Equinor has acted as the area architect, and together with partners evaluated different solutions on which discoveries to include in the development as well as host platform. Ringvei Vest is one of the largest early-phase projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
'The Norwegian Continental Shelf is maturing, new discoveries are smaller and costs are increasing. To maintain a high activity level and reliable energy supplies to Europe, it is important to develop marginal discoveries near existing infrastructure and collaborate across licenses. Equinor aims to increase our equity production from the Norwegian Continental Shelf to 1.3 million barrels per day in 2035,' says Hove.
Ringvei Vest covers a large area, and the plan is to drill a total of 13 wells through six templates. The well stream will be separated on the seabed before being transported to Troll B, which also provides power for the subsea facilities.
The wells are planned to be controlled from Troll B. From the platform, the oil is transported to Mongstad and the gas to Kollsnes.
Plans also include a new compressor on Troll B to increase processing capacity at the platform. The platform is partially powered from shore, which enables oil and gas in Ringvei Vest to be produced with low emissions.
Equinor chooses to inform about this project at an early stage because it is a large and important project, but it is too early to comment on the size of the investments.
The decision on continuation (DG2) is planned for the end of the year. The timeline for the final investment decision, submission of the plan for development and operation, and production start-up is not yet decided.
Partnerships*
- Grosbeak – PL 090JS: Equinor Energy AS (operator) 21%, INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS 40%, Wellesley Petroleum AS 5%, Vår Energi ASA15%, AkerBP ASA 19%
- Grosbeak – PL 925: Equinor Energy AS (operator) 66%, Wellesley Petroleum AS 5%, Vår Energi ASA 10%, Aker BP ASA 19%
- Grosbeak – PL248I: Equinor Energy AS (operator) 36%, Petoro AS 40%, Wellesley Petroleum AS 5%, AkerBP ASA 19%
- Kveikje PL 293B/CS: Equinor Energy AS (operator)51%, DNO Norge AS 20%, INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS 10%, AkerBP ASA 19%
- Swisher PL 24BC:Equinor Energy AS (operator) 26%, Petoro AS 40%, Wellesley Petroleum AS 15%, AkerBP ASA 19%
- Mulder PL 090: Equinor Energy AS (operator) 45%, INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS 15%, Vår Energi ASA 40%
- Toppand PL 630: Equinor Energy AS (operator) 76%, Wellesley Petroleum AS 5%, AkerBP ASA 19%
- Røver Nord og Røver Sør PL 923: Equinor Energy AS (operator) 61%, Petoro AS 20%, AkerBP ASA 19%
- Grønngylt PL090: Equinor Energy AS (operator) 45%, INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS 15%, Vår Energi ASA 40%
*After transactions between Equinor and AkerBP, pending government approval
Source: Equinor
