Equinor awards €536M in contracts for first wave of new subsea tie-back projects

July 7, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has, on behalf of partners, awarded four contracts worth around NOK 6 billion (about €536.4 million) for the first wave of subsea tie-back projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) as part of its NCS2035 strategy.

Subsea template for the Verdande field in the Norwegian Sea Photo: Marleen de Vries / Equinor

The four projects are part of the first of several planned subsea development waves, in which contracts are being coordinated to increase pace and reduce costs and lead time by up to 50% for subsea developments on the NCS.

“We envisage around 75 subsea developments towards 2035. To realise these resources, we need to develop smaller discoveries faster and at a lower cost than today. This requires significant changes in how we plan and execute subsea projects. Our ambition is to halve both costs and execution time through simpler processes and standardised solutions together with our partners and suppliers,” said Gunnar Nakken, Senior Vice President for projects and subsea on the NCS at Equinor.

“This is equipment with long lead times, so we need to invest early if we are to halve the time from discovery to production. We order standard equipment that can be used by later projects if one of the projects in the first wave is not sanctioned by the partnership or approved by the authorities.”

The relevant subsea projects are TWIN, which will be tied back to Troll A, Omega Sør, planned to be tied back to Snorre A, Tyrihans Nord, planned to be produced via the Kristin platform, and Brime, planned to be tied back to Gullfaks C via the existing Visund Sør template on the seabed. Together they will contribute between 130 and 220 million barrels of oil equivalent to future production from the NCS.

TechnipFMC has been selected to deliver subsea production systems (SPS) for Brime, Omega Sør and Tyrihans Nord and install rigid pipelines on the Troll field, with the linepipe supplied by Tenaris, OneSubsea will deliver the SPS for the TWIN project, as well as umbilicals for all the projects, while NOV will deliver flexible pipelines to Omega Sør, Tyrihans Nord and Brime.

Ocean Installer has been awarded the contract for marine operations and will install and connect the subsea facilities, control cables and flexible pipelines. The company described its contract as large, defined as having a value of between NOK 1-2 billion (around €89-178 million).

“We are strengthening competition and predictability and giving suppliers the opportunity to deliver on several projects at the same time. It is essential to reduce costs, and the response from the industry confirms significant improvement potential. We will now scale this collaboration to make marginal discoveries profitable and maintain activity levels on the Norwegian continental shelf,” said Jannicke Nilsson, Chief Procurement Officer at Equinor.

Wave 1 projects

With an investment of just over NOK 4 billion, TWIN, standing for Troll West Increased gas recovery North, is the third step in a phased development of the gas cap in Troll West and will contribute around 11 billion standard cubic metres of gas.

The project consists of two wells in a new template and a pipeline connected to existing subsea facilities. The control cable and MEG line will be extended to the new development. The gas will be produced via Troll A before being sent to Kollsnes.

Equinor is the operator holding a 30.55% share, with the remaining partners being Petoro 55.93%, Norske Shell 8.19%, TotalEnergies EP Norge 3.69% and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia 1.64%.

TWIN is the only project that has been sanctioned and in accordance with the Petroleum Act the partnership has sent notification to the Ministry of Energy regarding the development. The remaining projects will be processed and sanctioned in accordance with the decision-making processes of the partnerships and the authorities.

Brime is planned to be developed with four wells drilled from a template tied back to an existing subsea template at Visund Sør. From there, the wellstream, which is mainly gas, will be sent to Gullfaks C for processing before being transported onwards to Kårstø for export. It also provides the basis for a possible phased development of Nøkken, planned as sidetracks from two of the wells at Brime.

Recoverable volumes in Brime are estimated at 16–34 million barrels of oil equivalent. Equinor, as the operator, holds 74.66%, and Petoro 25.34%.

Omega Sør is an oil discovery made near the Snorre field in spring 2026, with recoverable volumes then estimated at between 25 and 89 million barrels. It is planned to be developed with a template and a Cap-X production satellite connected to existing subsea facilities. The oil is planned to be produced via Snorre A before being shipped to market via Gullfaks.

Equinor holds 31% (operator), Petoro 30%, Harbour Energy Norge 24.5%, INPEX Idemitsu Norge 9.6%, and Vår Energi 4.9%.

Tyrihans Nord is a discovery from 1984 that is planned to be developed with two wells in a new template connected to the existing production pipeline between the Tyrihans subsea field and the Kristin platform. From there, the gas will be sent onwards to Kårstø. Volumes are estimated at between 20 and 30 million barrels of oil equivalent, mainly gas.

Equinor holds 36.32% (operator), TotalEnergies EP Norge 23.15%, Petoro 22.52%, and Vår Energi 18.02%.

Sissel, a discovery made in January, is also included in the first wave. The original development plan included drilling a well through a new Cap-X structure. This has now been simplified so that the well will be drilled through the existing Utgard template. Volumes are currently estimated at between 6 and 28 million barrels of oil equivalent. Equinor (operator) and Orlen Upstream Norway each hold equal stakes in the project.