Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor and its partners – Petoro, Shell, TotalEnergies, and ConocoPhillips – have set their cap on investing just over NOK 4 billion (around $410–420 million) in a new subsea development, which will boost gas production from a field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
As both the industry and the authorities focus on simplifying processes, reducing costs, and bringing new volumes on stream more quickly, among many subsea projects planned on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in the coming years is Troll West Increased Gas Recovery North, or otherwise known as the TWIN project , which is expected to contribute around 11 billion standard cubic meters of gas.
This development is the third step of Troll phase 3 , which produces gas from the Troll West reservoir at the Troll field in the North Sea offshore Norway. The second step will come on stream during 2026 and will ensure continued high production from Troll A and Kollsnes towards 2030.
According to Equinor, both the platform and the onshore plant are powered by electricity from shore, meaning the gas will be produced with very low emissions. The project consists of two wells in a template and a pipeline connected to existing subsea facilities, with the umbilical and MEG line to be extended to the new development.
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The partners in the TWIN project are Equinor ( 30,55%, operator), Petoro (55,93%), A/S Norske Shell (8,19%), TotalEnergies EP Norge (3,69%), ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (1,64%). An environmental impact assessment has been carried out; thus, the operator claims that the partnership will now send an announcement to the Ministry of Energy concerning the development in accordance with the Petroleum Act.
Gunnar Nakken , Senior Vice President for Projects and Subsea Norway at Equinor, commented: “We have an ambition to start production as early as 2028. By simplifying, increasing standardisation and reusing existing infrastructure and equipment, we are reducing costs and enabling faster production, in line with our new ways of working. The project helps sustain jobs, value creation and secure gas exports to Europe from Troll A and Kollsnes.”
The Norwegian giant aims to produce 1.3 million barrels per day from the NCS in 2035. The Troll field is said to contain about 40% of the total gas reserves on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and constitutes the cornerstone of the country’s gas production.
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The gas from Troll alone meets around 10% of Europe’s gas needs, based on the information Equinor provided. The company underlines that the annual energy production from the Troll field is equivalent to about three times annual Norwegian hydropower production.
“Our fields are ageing, new discoveries are smaller and costs are increasing. If we are to continue delivering, we need to do something radically different. Our ambition is to halve costs and execution time for our subsea projects and develop six to eight such projects per year towards 2035,” emphasized Nakken.
This investment announcement for the TWIN project comes shortly after Equinor disclosed a concept for a development combining several North Sea discoveries into a single project, with estimated gross resources of approximately 240 million barrels of oil equivalent.
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