Equinor and its partners, together with Norwegian authorities, take new steps to meet the gas demand in Europe. Increased production permits allow the high gas production from the Troll, Oseberg and Heidrun fields to be maintained through the summer months.
“Our focus is to maintain safe and efficient operations on our facilities, remaining a reliable supplier of energy to the markets in Europe in a highly challenging situation. In close dialogue with the authorities and our partners we are now taking steps to maintain the high production level from the winter,” says Kjetil Hove, executive vice president, Exploration & Production Norway.
The adjusted production permits from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy allow the Oseberg field to increase its gas exports by around one billion cubic metres in the period up to 30 September. For the Heidrun field gas exports can increase by 0.4 billion cubic meters for the calendar year 2022.
1.4 billion cubic metres of gas meet the gas demand of around 1.4 million European homes during a year.
The measures
- Planned turnarounds on four platforms on the Oseberg field in May will be postponed to September 2022. This will accelerate the production of slightly less than 500 million cubic metres from September to May.
- The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has approved the application from Equinor for a more flexible production permit for the Oseberg field for the current gas year, enabling the field to maintain maximum production. Oseberg can thus increase gas exports up to 30 September 2022 by about 1 billion cubic metres. This is an about 15–20 percent increase for the current gas year, putting this year’s production at about 7 billion cubic metres.
- The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has approved the application from Equinor for an increase in the production permit to 38 billion cubic metres of gas for the Troll field for the current gas year. This increases production by 1 billion cubic metres, equivalent to an increase of slightly less than 3 percent for the Troll field in this gas year, in the event of loss of production from other fields.
- The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has approved the application from Equinor to increase the gas production on the Heidrun field by 0.4 billion cubic metres in the current gas year, i.e., an increase of up to approx. 30 percent.
