Equinor Pushes to Extend NCS Assets

Norway's Equinor is on a mission to give new life to more than 20 aging assets on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Over the course of the last three years, the oil company has received the authorities’ approval for extending the life of eight installations on the NCS that were originally scheduled for shutdown already, or in only a few years, including Gullfaks A, B and C (2036), Oseberg East (2031), Snorre A and B (2040), Norne (2036) and Åsgard A (2030).

Equinor said it plans to extend the life of more than 20 NCS installations in total, and expects to apply for extending the life of all older and relevant installations by 2031.

The firm has already submitted applications for consent to the authorities for further operation of Vigdis, Tordis and Veslefrikk, while applications for life extension of Troll B and Heidrun Subsea are scheduled to be submitted this year.

“Field life extension is an excellent way of managing resources, as it creates high value from established fields, where we cooperate with our suppliers on safe operation and lower emissions every single day. It also creates more activity offshore, in line with our ambition of pursuing our profitable and sustainable development of the NCS,” said Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for Development and Production Norway.

“It helps secure thousands of jobs offshore and onshore and considerable revenue to society, owners and suppliers. As an example, Gullfaks is currently creating more than 1,500 jobs directly on three platforms, in addition to onshore jobs with Equinor and our suppliers and local spinoffs across the country,” Nylund said.

In 2018, Gullfaks produced oil and gas at a value of close to NOK 28 billion, and investments of NOK 4.7 billion were made, Equinor said.

“Safe and efficient operation of our fields also form the basis for innovation relating to carbon capture and storage, floating offshore wind farms and hydrogen,” Nylund said.

At this year’s capital markets update Equinor presented plans that will lead to record production from its operated NCS installations in 2025. It said continuous focus on extending the life of our fields is one of the reasons for the company’s record production.