Equinor invests in gas infrastructure

Equinor and the Troll partners have decided to invest US$1 billion to further develop the gas infrastructure in the Troll West gas province.

This will accelerate production from the reservoir and maintain the current high gas export levels from the Troll and Kollsnes value chain leading up to 2030, the companies said.

Containing about 40% of total gas reserves on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) the Troll field represents the cornerstone of Norwegian gas production. The field consists of the main Troll East and Troll West structures in blocks 31/2, 31/3, 31/5 and 31/6 in the North Sea.

The Troll field is located in the northern part of the North Sea, about 65 kilometres west of Kollsnes near Bergen.

Stage 2 of the Troll Phase 3 project includes eight new wells from two new templates with subsea controls extended from existing templates. A new gas flowline will be laid as a tie-back to the Troll A platform, and the project will also perform modification work on Troll A. The first wells are scheduled to come on stream at the end of 2026.`

“We have been working alongside our partners, Gassco and the Norwegian authorities to maximize energy deliveries from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) since 2022. This project will allow Troll and Kollsnes to continue their substantial contributions to the role of the NCS in guaranteeing European energy security in challenging times. The gas from Troll alone meets around 10 % of Europe’s demands,” said Kjetil Hove, executive vice president for Exploration and Production Norway.

The first stage of gas production from the Troll West gas province started in 2021 and included eight wells and a new pipeline to the Troll A platform, as well as a new inlet module. This part of the project helped extend plateau production by 5-7 years. Stage 2 will further extend plateau production by around four years and reduce the production decline over the next 10-12 years.

Plateau production of Troll gas has increased as a result of recent upgrades at the Kollsnes processing plant. Maximum production from Troll used to be 121 million standard cubic meters of gas per day. This has now been increased to 129 million. Production from the new Troll wells will amount to about 20 million standard cubic meters of gas per day.