Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Equinor has submitted an impact assessment for development and operation of the Wisting field in the Barents Sea.
The company and its partners aim to finalize the plan for development and operation (PDO) by the end of this year, taking advantage of Norway’s temporary tax breaks for new petroleum projects.
The impact assessment, for public consultation, covers the development and operations phases. Last month Equinor entered an agreement with Lundin under which Equinor will continue to manage the project into the operations phase.
Wisting contains estimated recoverable volumes close to 500 MMboe, with anticipated of NOK60-75 billion ($6.79-8.49 billion), and a potential field life of over 30 years.
Siv Irene Skadsem, vice president for new assets on the Norwegian continental shelf at Equinor, said the selected development concept “is robust and adapted to Barents Sea operation, while at the same time well suited for Norwegian suppliers to be able to compete for major assignments.”
Wisting will produce through a circular FPSO, with operations supported by power from shore. Oil will be processed and stored on the FPSO before being shipped to the market.
The Norwegian share of goods and service deliveries will be at least 50% of total investments, and Equinor aims to increase the percentage as contracts are awarded.
Current plans call for the supply base and helicopter base to be established in Hammerfest in northern Norway.
Kristin Westvik, Equinor’s senior vice president for exploration and production north operations, said: “To build on the communities that Equinor already has in northern Norway, we want to split the operating model between Harstad and Hammerfest.
“We plan to establish an onshore control room and operational support tasks in Hammerfest, while functions related to administrative operation and other technical functions are to be in Harstad.”
There is insufficient gas in the reservoir to power the field throughout its lifespan, and gas import appears to be technically complex and costly.
Electrification should deliver the lowest emissions during the production period. For the operations phase the Wisting power demand will be around 80 MW, supplied via a 340-km (211-mi) long power cable.
The deadline for the consultation process for the impact assessment is 12 weeks from publication.
Wisting license partners are Equinor Energy (35%), Lundin Energy Norway (35%), Petoro (20%), and INPEX Idemitsu Norge (10%).
02/01/2022
