Vår Energi in the clear to fire up sixth chapter of North Sea oil project

July 3, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Norway’s oil and gas player Vår Energi has received authorization from the country’s authorities to bring online another segment of an oil project in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.

The Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has granted Vår Energi consent for the start-up and operation of Balder Phase VI on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (CCS). Located in the central part of the North Sea, just west of the Grane field within a water depth of 125 meters, Balder was discovered in 1967.

After the initial plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 1996, production began in 1999. The field has been developed with subsea wells tied back to the Balder production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO). The Ringhorne deposit, situated 9 kilometers north of the FPSO, is included in the Balder complex.

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Ringhorne is developed with a combined accommodation, drilling and wellhead facility, tied-back to the FPSOs Balder and Jotun for processing, crude oil storage and gas export.

A revised PDO for Balder and Ringhorne was approved in June 2020. The development plan includes lifetime extension and relocation of the FPSO Jotun, alongside the drilling of new subsea wells.