Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland has officially opened a field in the Barents Sea operated by the country’s state-owned energy giant Equinor.
The official opening ceremony for Johan Castberg was held on August 8, Equinor reported. This is Norway’s northernmost oil field and the third producing field in the Barents Sea after the Snøhvit and Goliat fields.
Located 240 kilometers from the city of Hammerfest and approximately 100 kilometers north of the Snøhvit field, Johan Castberg gathers and develops the resources from three oil discoveries: Skrugard, Havis, and Drivis , all of which are located in production licence 532 .
“This is a milestone for the petroleum industry in the Barents Sea. With Castberg on stream, the Barents Sea now has both our second largest producing oil field, our second largest gas field and the largest discovery being considered for development,” said Energy Minister Terje Aasland .
The field, which is expected to produce for 30 years, holds estimated recoverable volumes of 450-600 million barrels of oil. Equinor is the operator with a 46.3% interest, with its partners Vår Energi and Petoro holding 30% and 23.7% interests, respectively.
According to Equinor, the official opening was attended by the crew of the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Johan Castberg , government officials, members of the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority, Equinor, Vår Energi, Petoro, Aker Solutions, and employee representatives.
“This is a red-letter day. The Barents Sea is becoming increasingly important for Norway’s role as a long-term energy exporter, and Johan Castberg will produce safely and efficiently for at least 30 years. We are well underway and have already made new discoveries in the area,” noted Kjetil Hove , Equinor’s executive vice president for Exploration & Production Norway.
The field achieved its first oil on March 31. Less than three months later, the Norwegian major reported that Johan Castberg was producing at a peak capacity of 220,000 barrels per day.
The field development concept consists of the FPSO unit Johan Castberg tied back to a subsea field with a total of 30 wells divided among 10 subsea templates and two satellite structures. In June, the firm said 17 of these have been completed, adding that those that are on stream are producing as expected.