Barents Sea Johan Castberg startup delayed to early 2025
Equinor has pushed back the estimated first oil date for the Johan Castberg FPSO in the Barents Sea to January-February 2025, according to a Dec. 10 company news release.
The FPSO was moored at the field location in September and then hooked up to the subsea facilities. The project is now entering its final phase.
To date, 14 wells have been drilled, of which 12 are ready for production. That should be sufficient to achieve plateau production of 220,000 bbl/d.
"We are now in the final phase of completion,” said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor's executive vice president for Projects, Drilling and Procurement. “The operations have been somewhat delayed by bad weather.”
Johan Castberg, 100 km north of Equinor’s offshore Snøhvit gas-condensate field, comprises the Skrugard, Havis and Drivis oil discoveries in production license 532, with combined reserves estimated at 450 MMbbl to 650 MMbbl recoverable.
Once onstream, production from the three fields should continue for 30 years. Equinor is also working on plans to tie back new discoveries in the area to the Castberg field center.
In total, 30 development wells will be drilled on 10 subsea templates and two satellite structures. A supply and helicopter base in Hammerfest in northern Norway and an operating organization in Harstad will support the project.
Other partners in the development are Vår Energi and Petoro.