Equinor has started production from the first well in the Lavrans gas-condensate accumulation in the Kristin South area of the Norwegian Sea.
The company and its partners submitted the plan for development and operation of the Lavrans and Kristin Q discoveries in 2021, as the first phase of the Kristin South project.
A new subsea template, tied back to the Kristin semisubmersible platform, enables processing of oil and gas from Lavrans. The gas will be sent through the existing offshore pipeline system to markets in Europe, with the oil transported from the platform via the Åsgard C storage vessel.
Equinor plans four further wells in the first phase, three at Lavrans field and one in the Q-segment at the Kristin field, the latter drilled from an existing subsea template connected to the Kristin platform.
Phase one should produce over 58MMboe, with emissions of less than 1 kg of CO2/boe, mainly arising from drilling activities.
Lavrans was discovered in 1995, and the Kristin field went onstream in 2005. The platform’s lifespan is currently projected to end by 2043, although Equinor sees potential for further extensions.
For Kristin South phase one, Aker Solutions/OneSubsea and various subcontractors were responsible for the subsea production facilities; TechnipFMC and others for the pipeline fabrication, pipelay, and subsea installation; Aibel and subcontractors handled engineering, procurement, construction, and installation for the Kristin platform modifications; and the semisub Transocean Spitsbergen is drilling the wells.
Equinor’s partners in the surrounding Haltenbanken Vest Unit are Petoro, Vår Energi, and TotalEnergies EP Norge.
