Equinor finally starts production from Martin Linge field

The Equinor-operated Martin Linge oil and gas field in the North Sea came on stream on Wednesday night, 30 June. The field is powered from shore and operated from its onshore control room.

Equinor said on Thursday that the expected recoverable resources were approximately 260 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). At plateau, the field will produce around 115 000 boe per day.

Arne Sigve Nylund, Equinor’s EVP for projects, drilling, and procurements, stated: “This is a big day for everyone working on the Martin Linge project, for Equinor and our partner Petoro. I would like to thank everyone who has worked hard to deliver this project”.

Rune Nedregaard, SVP for operations, E&P in Norway, added: “Martin Linge is an important contribution to Norwegian oil and gas production. Thanks to new infrastructure in this area it will be possible to realise new discoveries in the future. Equinor has formed a cross-disciplinary team who is looking into the opportunities of a wider area surrounding Martin Linge”.

The Martin Linge platform receives power via the world’s longest alternating-current sea cable measuring 163 kilometres from the onshore substation at Kollsnes in Western Norway. Electrification of the field is one of the main measures for reducing CO2 emissions.

The platform was connected to shore power in December 2018 and was soon followed by the storage vessel on the Martin Linge field. This is the world’s first storage vessel receiving power from shore.

Martin Linge is also the first platform on the Norwegian continental shelf to be put on stream from shore. The production wells and processing plant are operated from the control room in Stavanger, and the offshore operators use tablets in the field to interact with their colleagues in the onshore control room and operations centre.

Equinor did remind that the Martin Linge project had faced many challenges. Production was originally scheduled to start in 2016. The costs of the Martin Linge field development rose to 63 billion NOK ($7.3 billion), compared to the original 31,5 billion NOK ($3.65 billion) in the 2012 plan for development and operation.

Equinor acquired Total’s interests in the field in March 2018. At the same time, it took over the operatorship and responsibility for completing the field development project.

Approximately 2,500 people offshore and onshore have worked on preparing the platform for production. In general, offshore completion is challenging for a project extending over several winter seasons.

“It has been a very demanding job, and more challenging than expected, but we have reached the finish line together with our suppliers and our partner Petoro. Martin Linge will now produce and create jobs and value for society for many years ahead”, Nylund said.