Equinor awards study contracts for Wisting

Equinor has, on behalf of the Wisting licence partners, awarded contracts for concept studies to further progress the oil field project development in the Barents Sea.

“Wisting is a considerable oil field in the Barents Sea, and we are cooperating well with our partners in further maturing the project.  Founded on experience and synergy potential within the project-portfolio we have assessed different development alternatives to identify potential solutions for a cost-effective and optimal field development,” says Trond Bokn, acting senior vice president for project development in Equinor.

“Based on this work, the licence partners have decided to further assess a floating production unit based on a circular FPSO solution (floating production, storage and offloading). However, a lot of work remains before we can make a final concept select during second quarter of 2021,” says Bokn.

Equinor and the industry have ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from activities on the Norwegian continental shelf. The Wisting partners are focused on reducing the carbon footprint of the production to the lowest extent feasible.

“Electrification is considered a possible option for reducing field emissions. The project will study a power-from-shore solution for a circular FPSO going forward,” says Bokn.

In 2019, the authorities approved a transfer of the Wisting operatorship to Equinor in the development phase, while OMV will resume operatorship in the production phase. Equinor is leading the development project and personnel from OMV is well integrated in the project organisation.

Suppliers who have been awarded contracts in connection with the start of Wisting concept studies:

FPSO: Aker Solutions, KBR Ltd., Sevan SSP and Aibel

SURF (Subsea Production and Processing Equipment, Umbilical, Risers and Flowlines): Aker Solutions, TechnipFMC, OneSubsea Processing, IKM Ocean Design and Kongsberg Maritime

An investment decision for Wisting is planned at the end of 2022.

Partners: Equinor (35%), OMV (Norge) AS (25%), Petoro AS (20%) and Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS (20%).