Equinor Raises Resource Estimate for Giant Oilfield

Equinor has raised the resource estimate for its giant oilfield Johan Sverdrup in the North Sea and said it was able to drive development costs for the project further down. The resource estimate for the entire field—one of the largest discoveries in the North Sea in the past three decades and one of the five largest oilfields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf—is raised to 2.2-3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent from 2.1-3.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Equinor also announced on Monday that it is submitting the development plan for the second phase of the project to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Oil Price reported.

Equinor ASA is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is a petroleum and wind energy company with operations in 36 countries.

The first phase of the giant Johan Sverdrup project is slated to start production in November 2019 and will be the main contributor to Norway’s rising oil production until 2023.

“Johan Sverdrup is the largest field development on the Norwegian shelf since the 1980s. At plateau, the field will produce up to 660,000 barrels per day, with a breakeven price of less than $20 per barrel and very low carbon dioxide emissions of 0.67 kg per barrel,” Equinor CEO Eldar Satre said in the company’s press release.

"Equinor has cut the total estimated investment for both phases 1 and 2 of Johan Sverdrup’s development by an additional $719 million (6 billion Norwegian crowns) since February this year," Satre said.