Oil production starts at Equinor’s Norwegian field, ushering in ‘new era’ for Barents Sea

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has brought on stream a field it operates in the Barents Sea, which is expected to produce for 30 years.

The production from the Johan Castberg field starting on March 31, 2025, marked the start of a new era in the Barents Sea region, said Vår Energi, which has a 30% stake in the field, in addition to Petoro’s 23.7% and Equinor’s 46.3%, with the latter being its operator.

Vår Energi’s CEO, Nick Walker, said: “This is a great day for Vår Energi, Petoro, Equinor and the Barents Sea region, and we congratulate the operator Equinor for their safe and successful start-up of Johan Castberg. The Johan Castberg field will be producing for more than 30 years, contributing to significant growth and value creation in the years to come with a pay-back time of less than 2 years.“

The Norwegian player hopes to get 66 thousand barrels of oil per day (kbopd) net at plateau levels, seeing the field as a catalyst to deliver on its growth target of reaching more than 400 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd) in Q4 2025.

The field is slated to produce for 30 years, bolstering Norway’s role as a reliable and long-term supplier of energy. Described as large, Johan Castberg holds estimated gross recoverable volumes of between 450 and 650 million barrels of oil. At its peak, it is anticipated to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day.

Located in the Barents Sea, 100 kilometers northwest of the Snøhvit field, the field comprises three discoveries: Skrugard, Havis, and Drivis. The field development is based on a production vessel tied back to an extensive subsea field with a total of 30 wells distributed between 10 well templates and two satellite structures.

The eponymous floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit working at the Johan Castberg field is 313 metres long, 55 metres wide, and 120 metres high. Its design storage capacity is 1.1 million barrels of oil.

The FPSO departed Aker Solutions’ Stord yard in June 2024, reaching its destination three months later.

Vår Energi believes the Johan Castberg area to be highly prospective, with 250 and 550 million barrels of oil of additional gross unrisked recoverable resources identified in the area. Work is said to be ongoing to mature several discoveries made in recent years into projects, including Johan Castberg Cluster 1. Cluster 2 is progressing through near-field exploration, with an “extensive” infill drilling program planned.

“This is a red-letter day.The Johan Castberg field will contribute crucial energy, value creation, ripple effects and jobs for at least 30 years to come. We expect that this major field development with a price tag of NOK 86 billion (2024) will be repaid in less than two years,” said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s executive vice president for Projects, Drilling and Procurement.

Since 12 of the 30 planned wells are ready for production, the operator is convinced the field will be brought up to expected plateau production in Q2 2025. Drilling operations are expected to continue towards late 2026.

“Johan Castberg opens a new region for oil recovery and will create more opportunities in the Barents Sea. We’ve already made new discoveries in the area and will keep exploring together with our partners. We’ve identified options to add 250-550 million new recoverable barrels that can be developed and produced over Johan Castberg,“ noted Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s Executive Vice President for Exploration & Production Norway.