Offshore Norway Field Center Going Partly Electric

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has approved a revised plan for development and operation (PDO) for partial electrification of the Sleipner field center, Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) has revealed.

The revised PDO was submitted to the authorities by Equinor - and its partners Vår Energi, LOTOS and KUFPEC - back in June last year. Sleipner is scheduled to be tied in to the Utsira High area solution by the end of 2022.

“Partial electrification of the Sleipner field center will contribute to major cuts in emissions from our activities and provide significant assignments for the supplier industry in a demanding time,” Arne Sigve Nylund, the executive vice president for technology, projects, and drilling at Equinor, said in a company statement.

“As the authorities have approved the PDO, we can keep developing the Norwegian continental shelf  towards the goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050,” Nylund added.

Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s executive vice president for development and production in Norway, said, “Sleipner is an important field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf contributing enormous value to Norwegian society”.

“The partners have focused on being in the forefront of technology development and innovation to carry out, for example, carbon capture, injection and storage at the field. The decision to partly electrify the field helps the partners in their effort of further developing the field,” Hove added.

Equinor holds a 59.6 percent operated interest in the Sleipner license. Vår Energi AS holds a 15.4 percent stake, LOTOS Exploration and Production Norge AS holds a 15 percent interest, and KUFPEC Norway AS holds a 10 percent interest.

The Sleipner area contains the Sleipner Øst, Gungne and Sleipner Vest gas and condensate fields. Sleipner installations are also processing hydrocarbons from the tie-in fields Sigyn, Volve, Gudrun and, from 2017, rich gas from Gina Krog.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com