Vår Energi said on Wednesday it will decide next year whether to send natural gas from Norway's Goliat oil field in the Arctic Barents Sea to the nearby Hammerfest liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant for export to world markets.
Oslo-listed Vår Energi, majority-owned by Italy's Eni, sees the Barents Sea as a key hub and a major part of the company's growth strategy.
Gas would be sent from Goliat via the pipeline from the adjacent Snoehvit field that currently feeds into Hammerfest LNG, Vaar said in a statement.
The Goliat field has since its 2016 startup only exported oil, while gas has been re-injected into the reservoir.
"To ensure optimal oil production in the future a solution for evacuation of gas from the reservoir is needed. This will contribute to extending the field lifetime," Vår Energi said.
Together with Goliat partner Equinor, Vår Energi will decide in the second half of 2024 whether to go ahead with the project. It did not provide an estimate for the investment required.
(Reuters - Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Nora Buli)