Equinor Energy and its partners have officially opened the upgraded Njord field in the Norwegian Sea, which is now expected to double its field life to produce oil and gas for 20 more years.
Brought into production in 1997, the Njord oil and gas field was estimated originally to produce until 2013.
The associated platform and the floating storage and offloading vessel (FSO) were disconnected from the field in 2016 to go through extensive upgrades on shore. In late December 2022, production was restarted from the Njord field.
Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland said: “With the war in Ukraine, the export of Norwegian oil and gas to Europe has never been more important than now. Reopening Njord contributes to Norway remaining a stable supplier of gas to Europe for many years to come.”
Equinor said that with systematic work with increased recovery at the field means that there are still large quantities of oil and gas in place.
Besides, new hydrocarbon discoveries in the area can be brought on stream and exported through Njord, said Equinor.
The Norwegian oil and gas major stated that the partners also aim to double the production and draw nearly the same volume from the Njord field that they have produced so far, which is about 250 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Equinor exploration and production north senior vice president Grete Haaland said: “It has been a big and demanding job, partly carried out during a pandemic, and I would like to thank everyone involved in preparing Njord for continuing its supply of oil and gas to the market.
“With the prices we anticipate in the coming years this comprehensive upgrading project will be repaid in in just under two years after startup.”
Equinor revealed that ten new wells will be drilled on the offshore oil and gas field from an upgraded drilling facility. Previously made discoveries in the Njord area will be developed and more exploration will be undertaken near the field.
Last month, the Bauge and Fenja fields were brought into production via a tieback to the Njord A platform. In the future, the Njord field is expected to be partially electrified from shore through the Draugen platform in the Norwegian Sea.
Equinor has a stake of 27.5% and is the operator of the Njord license. Its partners in the offshore oil and gas field are Wintershall Dea Norge (50%) and Neptune Energy Norge (22.5%).
