With giant newbuild FPSO anchored at Norwegian field, hook-up and first oil next on the agenda

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has anchored its new floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel to the seabed with mooring lines and will proceed to complete the rest of the items on the production start-up list to bring its oil project in the Barents Sea online, enabling the FPSO unit to embark on a three-decade assignment off the coast of Norway. 

After the FPSO Johan Castberg’s hull and living quarters were transported from Singapore to Stord for installation and commissioning in 2022, the project’s start-up was moved to Q4 2024 due to delays and cost overruns, pushing the Johan Castberg partnership to revise the cost estimate to NOK 80 billion (almost $7.4 billion) in September 2023. The plan for development and operation (PDO) of the Johan Castberg project was submitted in 2017, with a cost estimate of NOK 57 billion (close to $5.3 billion).

The PDO outlined that 30 wells would be distributed on ten templates and two satellites tied back to the FPSO vessel, for which the last mooring line that tied it to the quay at Aker Solutions in Stord was cut on May 30. Afterward, the unit left for sea trials in Klosterfjorden, before starting its journey of nearly 1,000 nautical miles from the Norwegian west coast to the Barents Sea.

As the FPSO Johan Castberg has now been anchored on the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea, Equinor underlines that the hook-up to the subsea facilities and the vessel’s preparation for production start-up towards the end of the year is now going to start.

Trond Bokn, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Project Management Control, remarked: “This is an important milestone for Equinor and its partners Vår Energi and Petoro.Johan Castberg strengthens Norway’s role as a reliable, long-term energy supplier. The field will create great value for society, and long-term ripple effects and jobs. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed.”

Located 240 kilometers northwest of Hammerfest in the Barents Sea and 100 kilometers northwest of the Snøhvit field in 370 meters of water, the Johan Castberg oil field, with estimated recoverable volumes of between 450 and 650 million barrels, has a supply and helicopter base in Hammerfest and an operations organization in Harstad. This field is expected to produce for 30 years, and at its peak, may produce 220,000 barrels per day.

Grete Birgitte Haaland, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Northern Norway, highlighted: “Johan Castberg is important for our development plans in Northern Norway. When the field comes on stream, a new province will be opened for oil recovery in the Barents Sea. This provides new opportunities for the exploration for and development of new discoveries in the area. Working with our partners we are already maturing five discoveries towards a possible tie-in to Johan Castberg.”

The 313-meter long, 55-meter wide, and 120-meter high FPSO Johan Castberg has a daily production capacity of almost 190,000 barrels and a storage capacity of 1.1 million barrels of oil. The Norwegian supply industry is perceived to have accounted for more than 70% of the total deliveries to the Johan Castberg project. Equinor claims that 95% of deliveries in the operating phase will come from Norwegian suppliers.

While the North Norwegian content is estimated at about 40%, every third of Johan Castberg employees is said to live in Northern Norway. The Johan Castberg field, which is operated by Equinor (50%), with Vår Energi (30%) and Petoro (20%) as partners, consists of the three discoveries – Skrugard, Havis, and Drivis – made between 2011 and 2013.

Out of the 30 wells envisioned in the field development concept to be distributed across ten subsea templates and two satellites that will now be tied back to the FPSO, 13 wells have been drilled so far, however, drilling operations will continue into 2026.

Recently, Equinor made progress in its mission to slash emissions from the Troll field by partly powering the Troll B and C platforms from shore, curbing annual emissions from the Norwegian Continental Shelf by 250,000 tonnes of CO2.