Equinor’s Barents Sea field hits peak output 3 months after first oil

A field in the Barents Sea operated by Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has started producing at full capacity.

As disclosed by Equinor, the peak capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day at the Johan Castberg field was achieved on June 17. Noting that the early operation phase has gone according to plan, the energy giant said the feat boosts energy deliveries from the Barents Sea by 150%.

Located approximately 100 kilometers north of the Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea, the field gathers and develops the resources from three oil discoveries: Skrugard, Havis, and Drivis, all of which are located in production licence 532. The field is expected to produce for 30 years.

Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s Executive Vice President for Exploration & Production Norway, commented: “Johan Castberg represents a gamechanger for the importance of the Barents Sea for Norway’s future as an energy nation. Every three to four days, tank loads now depart from Johan Castberg, each of them worth around half a billion Norwegian kroner.”

The Norwegian firm also shared that 17 of a total of 30 wells have been completed, adding that those that are on stream are producing as expected. Equinor is the field’s operator with a 46.3% interest, with its partners Vår Energi and Petoro holding 30% and 23.7% interests, respectively.

“The Johan Castberg volume base initially estimated at 450-650 million barrels, our ambition is to increase the reserves by between 250-550 million barrels. We are already planning six new wells to extend plateau production. The Isflak project will be a rapid field development with an investment decision at the end of the year and start-up in 2028. In addition, we will drill one or two exploration wells annually near Johan Castberg,” added Hove.

The floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit working at the field, FPSO Johan Castberg, is 313 metres long, 55 metres wide, and 120 metres high. Its design storage capacity is 1.1 million barrels of oil. After departing Aker Solutions’ Stord yard in June 2024, the unit reached its destination three months later.

The FPSO came on stream on March 31, opening a new area for production in the Barents Sea. The first cargo was loaded by the tanker Bodil Knutsen on May 25, shipping around 700,000 barrels to Spain. According to Equinor, almost all oil from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) is currently delivered to Europe.

The Norwegian giant also shared that new exploration targets have been matured in the Johan Castberg area. Future plans entail drilling new exploration wells in the areas around Johan Castberg and Goliat using two rigs, which will also drill production wells for the fields.

Vår Energi’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Torger Rød, said: “We are pleased to see Johan Castberg producing at stable plateau levels, after a safe and successful start-up by Equinor in March this year. For Vår Energi, this is an important milestone towards delivering on the Company’s growth target of producing more than 400 kboepd in the fourth quarter of this year, while further strengthening our position as a leading player in the Barents Sea.”