The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has authorised Equinor and its partners to start commercial production from the Johan Sverdrup oil field in North Sea. The Norwegian oil company intends to begin sometimes in autumn 2019 for the first phase of the field development, which will require an initial investment of NOK 83bn (€8.3bn). The construction of the phase two, worth NOK 41bn (€4.1bn), is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Financed by Equinor (40%, operator), Lundin (22.6%), Petoro (17.4%), Aker BP (11.6%) and Total (8.4%), Johan Sverdrup is the largest field development on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) since the 1980s, with recoverable reserves estimated at 2.7 Gboe. About 95% of this is oil, 3% is dry gas and the rest is NGL (Natural Gas Liquids). The first loading program will start in October 2019. Oil production is anticipated to ramp up to 440,000 bbl/d in the summer of 2020 and should rise further to 660,000 bbl/d once the second phase comes on stream in late 2022.