Equinor and its partners have finalised a development concept for Ringvei Vest, consolidating several discoveries into one subsea development connected to the Troll B platform in the North Sea.
According to Equinor, Ringvei Vest is among the largest early phase projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The project will link seven discoveries – Grosbeak, Kveikje, Mulder, Røver Nord, Røver Sør, Swisher and Toppand – as well as the Grønngylt prospect.
These deposits are spread across eight licences involving seven ownership groups, with Equinor operating all of them.
The agreed concept involves drilling 13 wells via six templates, with well streams separated on the seabed and transported to Troll B.
Equinor stated that Troll B will also provide power for the subsea infrastructure, with well operations controlled from the platform.
The oil produced from the Ringvei Vest project will be sent to Mongstad, while gas will be transported to Kollsnes.
The project design also features a new compressor at Troll B to expand processing capacity. The platform’s partial shore-based electrification is expected to enable production with low emissions.
Estimated gross resources for Ringvei Vest are around 240 million barrels of oil equivalent, making it a significant addition to planned regional output.
Equinor Norway exploration and production executive vice-president Kjetil Hove said: “A solid effort has been put in over a long period, and I am confident that together with partners and authorities, we have arrived at the best development solution, which also ensures optimal resource utilisation.”
Timing for a final investment decision, submission of a development and operation plan, and production start-up has not been determined.
The partners intend to make a decision to continue by the end of the year.
Hove said: “The Norwegian Continental Shelf is maturing, new discoveries are smaller and costs are increasing. To maintain a high activity level and reliable energy supplies to Europe, it is important to develop marginal discoveries near existing infrastructure and collaborate across licences.
“Equinor aims to increase our equity production from the Norwegian Continental Shelf to 1.3 million barrels per day in 2035.”
Prior to this, Equinor announced plans to increase its output to 2.3mbbl of oil equivalent per day by the end of this decade.
