Equinor’s 20-year-old Norwegian Sea field gets lifetime extension

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted Equinor consent for the extended use of the subsea facility on the Mikkel field in the Norwegian Sea for another five years.

Mikkel lies on the Halten Bank, 35 kilometers south of the Midgard deposit in the Åsgard license. It produces through the Asgard subsea compression plant to the Asgard B platform.

The field, currently producing both condensate and gas from the development wells, started production in August 2003.

The consent will see the use of the subsea facility extended from July 2023 to October 2028.

According to NPD, the next generation of compressors is currently being developed and the plan is to have them operational in 2025.

At the end of 2022, Mikkel had produced nearly 34 billion Sm3 of gas, according to Equinor. The new project is expected to result in extra production of more than 300 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The current expected production profile for the field is estimated up to 2034.