Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway — Equinor and four other oil companies are investigating options for building a floating offshore wind farm in the Troll area of the North Sea, 65 km west of Bergen, Norway.
The Trollvind development would have an installed capacity of about 1 GW and an annual production of ~4.3 TWh, with a planned startup in 2027.
According to Equinor, it could supply much of the electricity needed for the Troll and Oseberg fields via an onshore connection point. Various installations on these fields already receive power from the Bergen area, which needs more input to its electricity grid.
The company and the field partners, ConocoPhillips, Petoro, Shell and TotalEnergies, would purchase electricity produced at Trollvind at a price that would make the project feasible.
Trollvind also could deliver extra power to the Bergen region.
In 2020 the Norwegian parliament (Stortinget) committed to strengthen emission reductions requirements for the Norwegian Continental Shelf from 40% to 50% by 2030. Electrification of installations with long-remaining lifespans is seen as a key development in this regard.
And transferring offshore wind power to the shore could favor construction of a larger wind farm than one simply connected to oil and gas installations offshore. Bringing the power to shore also promotes better interaction with Norway’s regulated hydropower and onshore industry, Equinor added.
The partners are reviewing commercial arrangements under which the Trollvind development sells power to the Troll and Oseberg installations and the Kollsnes plant onshore in Mongstad. They estimate that Trollvind could supply power at a price of less than NOK1/kWh.
Feasibility studies are underway to further mature the concept, with a final investment decision targeted in 2023.
06.17.2022
