Barents Sea Wisting partners target late 2027 investment decision
Why this news matters:
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Moves a major undeveloped Barents Sea asset closer to sanction, with ~500 MMboe at stake and concept/FID decisions approaching
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Tests whether Arctic oil projects can meet stricter cost and emissions hurdles, including potential CCS integration
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Carries long-term supply chain and regional impact, with decades of operations and significant Norwegian industry involvement if approved
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Equinor and its partners expect to take FID on the Wisting oilfield development in the Barents Sea at the end of next year.
Wisting is the largest oil discovery offshore Norway still to be developed, with recoverable reserves of just under 500 MMboe.
However, the remoteness of the location and the likely cost involved caused design and engineering studies to be paused at the end of 2022 until work resumed through a newly appointed contractor consortium.
The partners have chosen an FPSO for Wisting, with carbon capture and storage (CCS) under review as a method of reducing CO2 emissions from production. But further improvements are still needed to deliver a profitable and viable project, Equinor said.
Nevertheless, the company has now submitted for public consultation a program for the environmental impact assessment of a potential development.
Wisting was discovered in 2013, in 390-418 m of water in the Hoop area of the Barents Sea. It is located in PL 537, about 310 km north of Hammerfest, northern Norway, in 390-418 m of water.
“Power from shore has been thoroughly assessed but was ruled out due to technical complexity and high costs,” said Trond Bokn, Equinor's SVP for project development. “We are now continuing our work on power generation based on an energy-efficient gas turbine solution."
Maturation work and sub-studies continue with the partners looking to agree on the final concept selection and possible continuation toward the end of this year.
Any solutions, however, must meet requirements for safe and efficient operations in the Barents Sea, Equinor reported.
The public consultation period is open for 16 weeks.
Licensees in Wisting include Equinor Energy (42.5%), Aker BP (27.5%), Petoro (20%) and INPEX Idemitsu Norge (10%).
About the Author
Jeremy Beckman
Editor, Europe
Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.