Subsea development concept selected for Norwegian North Sea field integration

Equinor Energy AS, acting as area architect and operator across eight licenses, has aligned with seven asset owners to develop seven discoveries and one prospect in the Norwegian North Sea. The participating companies include Petoro AS, Aker BP ASA, Vår Energi ASA, INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS, DNO Norge AS, and Wellesley Petroleum AS.

The cooperation is necessitated by the asset fragmentation and marginal nature of the individual discoveries, which include Grosbeak, Swisher, Mulder, Kveikje, Toppand, Røver Sør, Røver Nord, and the Grønngylt prospect. Rising extraction costs and the smaller scale of new fields require a unified infrastructure approach. Cross-license collaboration allows the partners to share the financial and technical risks of deployment while utilizing existing regional digital infrastructure and processing facilities.

Technical infrastructure and platform integration
The Ringvei Vest project involves the installation of a comprehensive subsea production system designed to extract an estimated 240 million barrels of oil equivalent. The architectural layout consists of 13 production wells distributed across six subsea templates.

At the system level, the well stream undergoes multiphase separation on the seabed before the fluids are transported via subsea pipelines to the host Troll B platform. Control signals and electrical power for the subsea facilities are supplied directly from Troll B, centralizing the operational control architecture.

To accommodate the additional volume and optimize process stability, the partners plan to install a new compressor unit on Troll B, expanding its existing processing capacity. The platform receives partial electrical power from shore, which lowers the overall carbon intensity of the processing lifecycle. Following initial separation and processing on Troll B, the extracted oil is piped to the Mongstad terminal, while the gas phase is routed to Kollsnes for distribution.

Project timeline and operational impact
The selection of the subsea concept defines the technical framework for the Decision on Continuation (DG2), which is scheduled for completion by the end of the year. The joint development maximizes resource utilization by extending the operational lifespan and commercial viability of existing infrastructure. Integrating these decentralized fields into a centralized hub addresses the logistical challenges of marginal field development, ensuring process efficiency and reliable asset management.

Edited by Evgeny Churilov, Induportals Media - Adapted by AI.

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