Equinor outlines plan for multi-field Ringvei Vest project in the North Sea

Equinor and its partners in multiple licenses in the Norwegian North Sea have agreed on the concept for the cluster Ringvei Vest development.

They plan a subsea tieback of seven discoveries and one prospect to the floating concrete Troll B platform. Equinor estimates the combined resource at 240 MMboe.

The discoveries—Grosbeak, Swisher, Mulder, Kveikje, Toppand, Røver Sør, and Røver Nord—and the Grønngylt prospect are located in eight licenses with a total of seven partners.

As the operator of all the concessions, Equinor has coordinated studies concerning which of the finds merit inclusion, plus the host platform.

“The Norwegian Continental Shelf [NCS] is maturing, new discoveries are smaller and costs are increasing," said Kjetil Hove, Equinor's EVP for exploration and production Norway. “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 its equity production from the NCS to 1.3 MMbbl/d in 2035.”

Ringvei Vest should reach the DG2 decision-gate phase at the end of the year, although the timeline for FID, submission of the plan for development and operation, and startup is yet to be determined.

The present plan is to drill a total of 13 wells through six subsea templates, with the well stream separated on the seafloor prior to being transported to Troll B. The platform will also supply power for the subsea facilities.

All the wells will be controlled from Troll B, with the produced oil sent to the Mongstad refinery and the gas to Kollsnes. Troll B is partially powered from shore.

Equinor added that it issued details of the development at such an early stage because of the project’s importance.