Johan Sverdrup Partners Eye Phase 4

Equinor ASA and its partners are planning to further extend the productive life of the Johan Sverdrup oilfield in the North Sea, Norway's biggest, beyond the ongoing phase 3 development.

Phase 4, which targets the northern part of the field, is planned to be a subsea tieback to the existing infrastructure. "Recently completed appraisal wells in the Johan Sverdrup area have proven increased oil volumes", majority state-owned Equinor said in an online statement Monday. "Discoveries made in the Tonjer wells and Geitungen will now form the basis for Johan Sverdrup phase 4".

Preliminary estimates for Tonjer and Geitungen are 20-30 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe). Equinor said it would further analyze subsurface data to refine the estimates.

"These are important and profitable volumes for Johan Sverdrup. By tying new resources to existing infrastructure, we can develop them quickly, with low costs and low emissions", said Kjetil Hove, Equinor executive vice president for Norwegian development and production.

Current government estimates put remaining reserves in Johan Sverdrup at 192.9 million cubic meters (6.81 billion cubic feet) oil, 4.9 MMcm oil equivalent gas and 2.8 MMcm oil equivalent natural gas liquids. It was discovered 2010 some 65 kilometers (40.39 miles) northeast of the Sleipner fields in waters 115 meters (377.3 feet) deep and put into production 2019, according to information on government website Norskpetroleum.no. Johan Sverdrup spans 200 square kilometers (77.22 square miles) in the Utsira High area.

Equinor and its partners are now working to reach a final investment decision on phase 4, toward possible startup in 2029.

"The goal is to increase value creation from existing fields through faster project development and an increase in the number of subsea developments tied back to existing infrastructure", Equinor said.

Last year the Johan Sverdrup partners agreed on a NOK-13 billion investment ($1.37 billion) to proceed with the third phase to increase recoverable volumes by 40-50 MMboe.

Equinor said July 1, 2025 the consortium had submitted a development plan to Norwegian authorities. Phase 3 is targeted to start production 2027.

Phase 3 is designed to have two new subsea templates in the Avaldsnes and Kvitsoy areas, tying back 8 wells to existing templates and pipelines to the P2 platform for processing and export.

"The project also facilitates future value creation at Johan Sverdrup by adding extra well slots, and opportunities for connecting additional subsea templates", Equinor said.

Newcastle, England-based TechnipFMC PLC won phase 3's engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract, valued NOK 5.3 billion.

On June 8, 2026 Aker BP ASA said its stake in Johan Sverdrup has increased from 31.5733 percent to 31.7163 percent following a redetermination. Before the redetermination, operator Equinor owned 42.6267 percent. Petoro AS, also government-owned, held 17.36 percent. France's TotalEnergies SE had 8.44 percent.

To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com