Equinor reports that the floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) is now securely anchored on the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea.
The hook-up of the FPSO to the subsea facilities, preparing it for production start-up towards the end of the year, will now start.
'This is an important milestone for Equinor and its partners Vår Energi and Petoro.Johan Castberg strengthens Norway's role as a reliable, long-term energy supplier. The field will create great value for society, and long-term ripple effects and jobs. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed,' says Trond Bokn, Equinor's senior vice president for project management control.
The Johan Castberg FPSO in the Barents Sea. Photo: Lars Morken/Equinor
Johan Castberg is a large oil field with estimated recoverable volumes of between 450 and 650 million barrels. The field will produce for 30 years, and at its peak, Johan Castberg may produce 220,000 barrels per day. The field development concept includes 30 wells distributed across ten subsea templates and two satellites that will now be tied back to the FPSO. So far, 13 of these wells have been drilled, and drilling operations will continue into 2026.
Johan Castberg is located 240 kms northwest of Hammerfest. The field has a supply and helicopter base in Hammerfest and an operations organisation in Harstad.
'Johan Castberg is important for our development plans in Northern Norway. When the field comes on stream, a new province will be opened for oil recovery in the Barents Sea. This provides new opportunities for the exploration for and development of new discoveries in the area. Working with our partners we are already maturing five discoveries towards a possible tie-in to Johan Castberg,' says Grete Birgitte Haaland, Equinor's senior vice president for Northern Norway.
The Norwegian supply industry has accounted for more than 70 percent of the total deliveries to the Johan Castberg project. In the operating phase, 95 percent of deliveries are expected to come from Norwegian suppliers. The North Norwegian content is estimated at about 40 percent, and every third Johan Castberg employee lives in Northern Norway.
Facts
- Licensees: Equinor Energy AS (operator) 50%, Vår Energi ASA 30% and Petoro AS 20%.
- Johan Castberg is located in the Barents Sea, 100 kilometres northwest of the Snøhvit field, in 370 metres of water.
- Johan Castberg consists of the three discoveries Skrugard, Havis and Drivis, which were made between 2011 and 2013.
- The FPSO is 313 metres long, 55 metres wide and 120 metres high. Its design storage capacity is 1.1 million barrels of oil.
Source: Equinor
