The Troll A platform in the North Sea is being supplied with additional gas. On 22 August production started from the Troll Phase 3 stage 2 subsea project.
This helps maintain jobs, value creation and high gas deliveries to Europe from Troll A and the Kollsnes processing plant, which marks its 30th anniversary this year.
The project accelerates production of 55 billion standard cubic metres of gas from the Troll West reservoir. This corresponds to nearly two years of France’s gas demand.
'Troll is the backbone of Norwegian gas exports to Europe. This project accelerates production from the reservoir, helping maintain today’s high level of gas exports from Troll and Kollsnes for as long as possible. With both Troll A and the Kollsnes gas plant powered by electricity from shore, the gas is produced with very low emissions,' says Lill Harriet Brusdal, vice president for Troll and Kvitebjørn.
The Troll partnership consists of Petoro, Equinor, Shell, TotalEnergies and ConocoPhillips. Troll Phase 3 stage 2 builds on the subsea facilities from the Troll Phase 3 project, which came on stream in 2021, reusing design and standardised solutions. This reduces execution time and costs and points the way for future subsea developments. Troll Phase 3 stage 2 comes on stream just over two years after the partnership’s investment decision.
'We start production with excellent HSE results, ahead of schedule and several hundred million Norwegian kroner below the cost estimate. The main reasons are efficient marine operations and a highly efficient drilling campaign, which was completed 25 per cent faster than planned,' says Trond Bokn, senior vice president for project development in Equinor.
The Troll phase 3 step 2-project was originally scheduled to start up towards the end of the year, and the cost estimate was NOK 12.3 billion.
The eight-well drilling campaign was completed in five and a half months by the Deepsea Aberdeen rig from Odfjell, with services from SLB and Baker Hughes. Templates and manifolds were built by Aker Solutions in Egersund for main supplier OneSubsea and installed on the field by Ocean Installer.
The umbilical, supplied by OneSubsea in Moss, and the MEG line have been extended from the existing facilities. A 28-kilometre, 36-inch pipeline was installed by the world’s largest pipelay vessel, Pioneering Spirit, and the line pipe was stored on Stord. Randaberg Industries delivered spools and pipeline end terminations, and Aker Solutions has carried out modifications on Troll A.
In this way, the project has generated significant ripple effects in Norway. In operations it helps maintain secure gas deliveries to Europe, jobs and revenues for society. More than 90 per cent of the profits from the Troll field go to the state through taxes and direct ownership in the field via Petoro.
Facts:
- Partnership: Petoro AS 55.93%, Equinor Energy AS (operator) 30.55%, A/S Norske Shell 8.19%, TotalEnergies EP Norge AS 3.69% and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS 1.64%
- Troll is the cornerstone of Norwegian gas production and contains around 40% of the gas reserves on the Norwegian continental shelf.
- Gas from Troll alone meets around 10% of Europe’s demand, and the annual energy production from Troll corresponds to three times Norway’s annual hydropower production.
- This year, Troll marks 30 years as Norway’s largest gas-producing field. Its enormous resource base has made it necessary to plan development and production in three phases:
- Phase 1 is the gas in Troll East, which resulted in Troll A, the Kollsnes gas plant and associated infrastructure.
- Phase 2 is the oil in Troll West, which resulted in the Troll B and C platforms and corresponding infrastructure. The oil is sent to the oil terminal at Mongstad.
- Phase 3 produces the gas cap above the oil column in Troll West, while oil production continues. The gas flows to Troll A and onward through existing infrastructure.
- The Troll Phase 3 development is being carried out in several steps to ensure timely production of the gas resources in Troll West. Earlier this year, the partners also decided to proceed with the next phase of the development through the TWIN project (Troll West Increased gas recovery North).
Source: Equinor
