Giant North Sea field sets ‘historic’ gas production record

Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor has achieved a new production milestone at its natural gas asset in the North Sea, which is said to be the largest oil and gas field off the coast of Norway.

According to Equinor, the Troll field in the North Sea produced more gas than ever before last year with significantly reduced CO₂ emissions, thanks to the partial electrification of two offshore platforms. As a result, the field has set “a historic production record,” based on the Norwegian company’s data, as it delivered 42.5 billion standard cubic meters of natural gas in 2024.

This amount of energy is equivalent to about three times the Norwegian hydropower production in a normal year. Perceived as the highest annual production ever for the field and an increase of almost 10% from the previous record of 38.8 billion standard cubic meters in 2022, this achievement is the result of high regularity, a year without turnarounds, as well as upgrades that have increased efficiency.

In addition, the riser replacement on Troll B has also played an important role in maximizing production. Equinor planned the development and production of resources from the Troll field in three phases, with Phase 1 covering the gas resources in Troll East, which led to the installation of the Troll A platform, the Kollsnes gas plant, and associated infrastructure with gas exported to Europe via the Zeepipe pipelines.

Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s Executive Vice President for Exploration & Production Norway, commented: “With record-high production in 2024, the Troll field confirms its position as a pillar of Europe’s energy security. The field contributes to a stable gas supply for millions of households and is important for European industry.

“This milestone is the result of decades of targeted work to recover the Troll oil and gas resources in an efficient and sustainable manner. It is rewarding to be able to deliver such significant volumes of gas when Europe needs it most.”

The Troll A platform, which is said to be the first platform to be powered from shore on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), has been electrified since its start-up in 1996. Gas on the NCS is sourced locally and is perceived to have the industry’s lowest emissions from production and transport.

Ever since it came on stream, the Troll A platform is believed to have been the main contributor to natural gas production, which was expanded in 2021 to include the gas cap in the western part of the reservoir, facilitated by major subsea development deemed to be instrumental in increasing production, even 28 years after the start-up.

Furthermore, Phase 2, which includes resources in Troll West (TWEL), allowed the Troll B and C platforms to contribute significant quantities of gas that are transported via Troll A to Kollsnes. Last year, both the Troll B and C platforms were partially electrified, enabling significant CO₂ emission cuts for 2024. A preliminary estimate indicates that emissions were slashed by approximately 90,000 tons in 2024, or approximately 15%.

The gas processing plant at Kollsnes has been upgraded in recent years. To this end, Equinor worked closely with the operator Gassco to boost capacity from 144.5 million to 156 million standard cubic meters per day, which is seen as an important contribution to the production record.

The Norwegian giant decided to pursue the second stage of the Troll Phase 3 (TP3 II) project by investing over NOK 12 billion (close to $1.13 billion) to boost the gas infrastructure in the Troll West gas area to accelerate production from the reservoir and maintain the current high gas export levels from the Troll and Kollsnes value chain leading up to 2030.

The TP3 II encompasses eight new wells from two new templates with subsea controls extended from existing templates, while a new gas flowline will be laid as a tie-back to the Troll A platform. This project is expected to require modification work on Troll A. The first wells are slated to come online at the end of 2026.

Helge Haugane, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Gas and Power Trading, noted: “The efforts to recover more Troll gas and increased export capacity clearly help ensure that our customers in Europe get the energy security and long-term perspective they need.”

The gas from Troll accounts for about 11% of the EU’s total natural gas consumption, based on Equinor’s records. Over the recent years, several discoveries of both oil and gas have been made in the area around Troll. Troll licensees are Equinor, Petoro, Norske Shell, TotalEnergies, and ConocoPhillips.

The partial electrification of the two Troll platforms came months after Equinor’s Sleipner field center, along with the Gudrun platform and other associated fields, started partly operating on power from shore, downsizing carbon emissions from the NCS by 160,000 tons of CO2 per year.