Equinor invests NOK 2.3 billion in Gullfaks field

Equinor's headquartersEquinor's headquarters at Fornebu in Bærum.Photo: Tor Erik Schrøder / NTB scanpix

The oil giant, Equinor, together with Petoro and OMV, will invest NOK 2.3 billion, to raise 17 million barrels of oil equivalents in the Gullfaks field in the North Sea.

The Gullfaks project, which involves the drilling of seven new wells, was presented on Tuesday at the Oil Industry Policy Seminar, which is currently being held in Sandefjord. Executive Vice President for Development and Production on the Norwegian Shelf, Arne Sigve Nylund, of Equinor, submitted the application to the Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Kjell Børge Freiberg, during the seminar.

‘’Our ambition is to maintain profitable production from the Norwegian shelf for decades. A large contribution will come from wells that can be drilled cheaply and quickly near existing infrastructure’’ said Nylund.

The new wells will be drilled in the Shetland group, which is a lime reservoir located above the main reservoir on the Gullfaks field in the North Sea. The lime reservoir has created challenges for the drilling work, but a well test in 2012 showed that it was possible to get good oil production in the reservoir.

“The Gullfaks partners have therefore invested more than NOK 1 billion in production wells in this formation since 2013, which so far have provided over six million barrels of oil from Shetland / List phase 1” said Equinor.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate mentions the project as a positive example of the fact that dense reservoirs can, in some cases, be developed profitably through reliable studies and new technology.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today