First oil gushes out of North Sea project

April 7, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Norwegian oil and gas player Aker BP has put into production mode its subsea tie-back project in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.

Aker BP has begun oil production from the Symra field in the Norwegian North Sea nine months ahead of the original schedule, generating significant value and accelerating production start into 2026. The field is estimated to contribute approximately 63 million barrels of oil equivalent to the Eiga area.

Located approximately 7 kilometers northeast of the Ivar Aasen platform, Symra has been developed as the second subsea tie-back to Ivar Aasen, with the production partially processed at this asset before final processing at Edvard Grieg. This development comprises four wells tied back via a subsea template.

The firm claims that modifications have been carried out on both platforms to enable tie-in of the subsea infrastructure to Ivar Aasen and to increase processing capacity at Edvard Grieg. Symra is the sixth Aker BP-operated project sanctioned in 2022 to come on stream.

Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP, commented: “Symra shows what’s possible when strong partners work as one: safe delivery, high quality and faster execution. It’s also a step into a new part of the Eiga area and a new reservoir type on the Norwegian shelf, creating value for shareholders, partners and society.”

The work on the development has been carried out in close collaboration with several suppliers, with TechnipFMC delivering the subsea systems, Moreld Apply handling modifications on the Edvard Grieg platform, and Aibel performing the modifications on the Ivar Aasen platform.

The drilling operations have been undertaken by Odfjell Drilling and Halliburton through the Norwegian operator’s drilling and wells alliance. These suppliers have contributed to the safe, efficient, and high-quality execution of the project.

Aside from this one, the Utsira High project, which is a bundle of two separate subsea tie-in projects, also entails Solveig in the central part of the North Sea. Solveig Phase 2 was designed to be connected to the Edvard Grieg platform.

Aker BP is the operator of Symra (PL167/167B/167C) with Equinor (30%) and DNO Norge (20%) as its partners.