The Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil and its partners plan to invest NOK5bn (around €523m) in the further development of the offshore Snøhvit gas field in the Barents Sea in order to enhance the supply of gas to the Melkøya LNG plant in Hammerfest (Norway). The second part of the multi-phased Snøhvit development is called Askeladd and it is expected to supply 21 bcm of gas and 2 bcm of condensate to Hammerfest LNG starting from the end of 2020, thus helping Statoil to maintain a production plateau rate at the Hammerfest LNG facility until 2023.
The Snøhvit fields holds enough gas reserves to maintain production beyond 2050 and its plan for development and operation (PDO) was approved in 2002. It is the first petroleum development in the Barents Sea and one of Statoil's major projects on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). The Snøhvit development is held by Statoil (36.79%), Petoro (30%), Total (18.4%), Neptune Energy Norge (12%, formerly Engie EPI) and DEA Norge (2.81%).