Future expansion on horizon for Norway’s giant oil-producing field

June 15, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor is laying the groundwork to enable a potential new subsea development in the North Sea, which will help maintain production and value creation from one of the largest oil-producing assets on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

Johan Sverdrup field; Source: Arne Reidar Mortensen/Equinor

Since new volumes in the Johan Sverdrup area provide the basis for Johan Sverdrup phase 4, Equinor and its partners are now maturing a potential subsea development in the northern part of the field, which is expected to contribute to Europe’s energy security. The licensees in the Johan Sverdrup unit are: Equinor (operator, 42.62%), Aker BP (31.57%), Petoro (17.36%), and TotalEnergies (8.44%).

The operator emphasizes that the recently completed appraisal wells in the Johan Sverdrup area have proven increased oil volumes; thus, the discoveries made in the Tonjer wells and Geitungen will now form the basis for the fourth phase of development.

Kjetil Hove, Executive Vice President for Development and Production Norway, commented: “These are important and profitable volumes for Johan Sverdrup.

“By tying new resources to existing infrastructure, we can develop them quickly, with low costs and low emissions. At the same time, they contribute to maintaining production and value creation from one of Norway’s largest oil-producing field over time.”

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According to the Norwegian player’s plan, the volumes from Tonjer west and east, and Geitungen are planned to be developed through a subsea development tied back to existing infrastructure on Johan Sverdrup to help maintain production from the field.

“Johan Sverdrup has been the backbone of Norwegian oil production since its inception. In order to maintain production and value creation for decades to come, we must continuously develop new resources around the existing infrastructure. Phase 4 is a good example of how we can get more out of a world-class field,” added Hove.

Tonjer is situated in the northernmost part of the Geitungen terrace in the Johan Sverdrup area. While oil was previously discovered in the area, the volumes and potential were uncertain, but the drilling of two appraisal wells and a sidetrack has now provided the basis for a more precise assessment of the resource base.

Equinor claims that the preliminary estimates for Tonjer and Geitungen combined are between 20 and 30 million barrels of oil equivalent. However, further analyses of subsurface data will form the basis for more precise resource estimates.

The project is now being matured toward an investment decision (FID) with a possible production start-up in 2029, as part of the firm’s plans to accelerate its large portfolio of subsea developments.

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“The goal is to increase value creation from existing fields through faster project development and an increase in the number of subsea developments tied back to existing infrastructure. This also reflects the partners’ common strategy,” highlighted Equinor.

Aker BP believes the development concept under consideration, which entails a subsea tie-back to existing Johan Sverdrup infrastructure, enables efficient development with low unit costs, low emissions, and a short lead time from investment decision to first production.