Norway's Equinor and its partners in the Troll oil and gas field submitted a plan to the Petroleum Ministry on Tuesday to further develop the project on the Norwegian continental shelf, the company said in a press release.
'The third phase of the Troll development realizes 2.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent. It has a break-even of less than $10 per barrel and a carbon intensity of 0.1 kg per barrel,' said Margareth Ovrum, executive vice president for technology, projects and drilling at Equinor.
'This is probably one of the most profitable and robust projects in the company’s history,' the official added.
The capital expenditure for the project is estimated at NOK 7.8 billion ($958 million), helping extend the production life of the Troll field beyond 2050, according to the statement.
-Gas deliveries to Europe
'The plan for development and operation for the next phase of the Troll development submitted today is highly important both to the future value creation for Norwegian society, but also to ensuring future gas deliveries to Europe,' Ovrum said.
According to the statement, a large share of the Troll cash flow goes to the Norwegian state through taxes, and the state’s direct financial interests.
'The Troll field has thus added more than NOK 1000 billion ($123 billion) to the State revenues, since it came on stream in 1995,' it said.
The expected future value creation from Troll is estimated at NOK 1,650 billion ($202.7 billion).
According to Equinor's senior vice President for operations West, Gunnar Nakken, the further development of Troll will also strengthen Norway's ability to supply gas to Europe.
'The gas from Troll will ensure reliable, profitable and carbon-efficient gas supply equivalent to the consumption of 50 million households in Europe for 30 years in the future,' Nakken said.
The annual export volume from Troll is estimated to account for 8 percent of the EU's gas consumption, according to the statement.
Equinor said it would sign on Tuesday marine installations and subsea facilities contracts worth a total of approximately NOK 750 million ($92 million) with the companies Allseas, Nexans and Deep Ocean.
The subsea concept includes the construction and installation of two subsea templates, drilling of eight production wells, laying of a 36-inch diameter pipeline and the installation of a new processing module on the Troll A platform, the statement added.
Earlier this year, the partnership awarded contracts for subsea facilities and the construction of a new processing module on the Troll A platform to Aker Solutions.
According to the statement, Troll is Norway's biggest gas producer, and has also been the country's biggest oil producer for the past five years, with annual energy production from the Troll field equivalent to about three times the annual Norwegian water power production.
'The Troll Phase 3 project extends the plateau production for gas from the Troll field by about seven years, and the expected productive life by about 17 years,' it added.
Equinor, as the operator, has a 30.58 percent stake in the field, whereas the biggest partner Petoro has a 56 percent stake. The other three partners are Norske Shell (8.10 percent), Total E&P Norge (3.69 percent), and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (1.62 percent).
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr