Norwegian energy major Equinor has decided to invest over NOK 12bn ($1.12bn) to further develop the gas infrastructure in the Troll West gas field.
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 the platform. The first wells are scheduled to come on stream at the end of 2026.
The $121m contract for the drilling of the new wells has already been awarded to Odfjell Drilling and the Deepsea Aberdeen rig. The drilling will start in late 2025 or early 2026. The pipelaying contract for the 36-inch gas pipeline has been awarded to Allseas.
Aker Solutions was previously awarded a FEED study for modifications to the Troll A platform. Equinor will select suppliers and award contracts for the implementation of detailed EPC work on the platform during the summer.
The new infrastructure will accelerate production from the reservoir equivalent to about 55bn standard cubic metres of gas. At its peak, the annual contribution from the new development will amount to around 7bn standard cubic metres of gas.
“This is a highly profitable project that will secure high gas production from the Troll field. We’ve chosen to use solid, familiar suppliers, most of which already have framework agreements with us,” said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s EVP of projects, drilling, and procurement.
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. Gas from Troll alone meets around 10% of Europe’s demands.
Plateau production of Troll gas has increased following upgrades at the Kollsnes processing plant from 121m standard cubic metres of gas per day to 129m. Production from the new Troll wells will amount to about 20m standard cubic metres of gas per day.
The Norwegian major awarded the FEED contract with an option for detailed EPC of subsea production systems, including umbilicals to OneSubsea. The option has been exercised and the estimated value is around $188m. The umbilicals will be manufactured in Moss and structures and manifolds will be assembled in Egersund.
The company will also award contracts for the fabrication and installation of pipeline termination structures, umbilicals, and connection pipes in addition to the installation of the subsea production system. The scope of work has an estimated value of around $94m.
