Equinor expands Arctic oil field
The Norwegian company makes an additional discovery near the far northern Johan Castberg field.
Drilling rig Transocean Enabler has struck oil in the Drivis Tubåen, an exploration well located 12 km from the Johan Castberg field.
According to preliminary estimates, the size of the discovery is 9-15 million barrels of oil.
The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 1769 metres below sea level.
“A 52-metre oil column was encountered in sandstone in the Tubåen Formation totalling 139 metres with good and very good reservoir quality. The oil/water contact was encountered 1663 metres below sea level,” the Norwegian Offshore Directorate informs.
Equinor started production at the Johan Castberg in March this year. On June 17, the field reached its plateau production of about 220,000 barrels of oil per day. Every three to four days, a loaded tanker now departs from Johan Castberg, the company reports.
Equinor believes it will be able to significantly expand production.
"Only a short time after Johan Castberg came on stream and is producing at full capacity, we have made a new discovery that can provide additional reserves for the field,” says Grete Birgitte Haaland, Equinor's senior vice president for Exploration & Production North.
“The Johan Castberg volume base originally estimated at 450–650 million barrels, our clear ambition is to increase the reserves by a another 250–550 million barrels,” she explains.
Equinor is planning another six new exploration wells in the area. It will also develop Isflak, a discovery it made in 2021, as a rapid field expansion with planned start-up in 2028.
The Johan Castberg is located about 240 km north of the Norwegian mainland and is the world’s northernmost offshore oil field in production.
Equinor is believed to have spent at least 80 billion NOK (€6,85 billion) on the development of the project. At the centre is a 300-metre long floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO).
Critics warn of environmental risks in Arctic waters and grave consequences for global climate, but Equinor has no plans to halt or downsize exploration.
On the contrary.
“Going forward, two rigs will drill both production wells and new exploration wells in the areas around Johan Castberg and Goliat. Equinor will drill one to two exploration wells annually around Johan Castberg,” the company says.
