Equinor: Johan Sverdrup powered from shore

The giant development in the North Sea has been through the busiest installation campaign ever for a field in the North Sea. Today Johan Sverdrup reached another milestone, when power from shore was officially switched on about a year before production start-up. With electric power supplied from shore Johan Sverdrup operations can be run without the use of fossil fuels, which makes it one of the most carbon-efficient fields worldwide.

The Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Kjell-Børge Freiberg, had the honours of switching off the temporary generators which had supplied the field with electricity during the first months of the installation campaign offshore. And after the four generators had quietened down, the milestone was celebrated in the traditional offshore style with coffee and cake.

“This is an important day for Equinor and the Johan Sverdrup partners, so it is a great honour to get help from none other than the Minister with this final task to fully operationalise the power-from-shore solution,” says Jez Averty, senior vice president for operations in the south of the North Sea.

“With estimated resources of up to 3.2 billion bbls, and a production horizon of more than 50 years, it is key that Johan Sverdrup production is as effective as possible with the lowest possible emissions. Low carbon production is a key element of the company’s strategy and fully aligned with our roadmaps for climate and for the Norwegian continental shelf,” says Averty.

Johan Sverdrup full-field production is estimated to reach 660 000 bpd at plateau, with a break-even of less than US$20 per barrel, and with CO₂ emissions of only 0.67 kg per bbl. Power from shore to Johan Sverdrup will help reduce emissions by an estimated 460 000 t of CO₂ per year, equivalent to the emissions of 230 000 private cars each year.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/09102018/equinor-johan-sverdrup-powered-from-shore/