Equinor ASA and its partners have agreed on a NOK-21 billion ($2.09 billion) investment to develop Fram South, which will unlock new gas for Europe, the operator said.
The consortium forwarded the development plan to Norway’s Energy Ministry on Thursday, the majority state-owned energy major said.
The project, a subsea tieback to the existing Troll C platform, holds estimated recoverable volumes of 116 million barrels of oil equivalent. Oil comprises 75 percent and gas 25 percent, according to Equinor. It expects the project to start production 2029.
“We have done a thorough job maturing the new resources discovered in the Fram and Troll area in recent years”, Kjetil Hove, Equinor executive vice president for Norwegian exploration and production, said in an online statement.
Fram West and Fram East started production 2003 and 2006 respectively. Both are tied back to Troll C.
“We have a large portfolio of projects that will phase in discoveries to our producing fields. Equinor expects to put more than 50 such projects on stream by 2035”, Hove added.
The Fram South development consists of Echino South, discovered 2019; Blasto, discovered 2021; and two smaller discoveries.
Fram South is in the northern part of the North Sea, about 20 kilometers (12.43 miles) north of Troll C and around 120 kilometers northwest of Bergen. It has a water depth of approximately 350 meters (1,148.29 feet), while the reservoir depth is 1,800-2,800 meters, according to Equinor.
The development will have 4×4 subsea templates. Initially 12 wells will be started up, with plans for a later development. Oil from the Fram field goes through Troll Oil Pipeline II to Mongstad, and gas is exported to Kollsnes via the Troll A platform.
“As the first on the NCS [Norwegian continental shelf], Fram Sor will use all-electric Christmas trees that eliminate the need for hydraulic fluid supplied from the platform and improve monitoring capabilities of the subsea equipment”, Equinor noted. “It is an efficient and reliable system for operating subsea Christmas trees, as well as reducing the risk of environmental impact”.
Equinor estimates emissions from the project to be 0.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel of oil equivalent. It said the NCS average is 8 kilograms while the industry average is 16 kilograms. The production platform has been electrified since 2024, helping lower emissions.
Equinor expects to award NOK-18 billion contracts. “A ripple effect study conducted by Kunnskapsparken in Bodo indicates an employment effect of 4,500 full-time equivalents in Norway through the development period. Most of the suppliers have a Norwegian invoice address, but some of the construction takes place abroad”, it said.
Equinor operates Fram with a 45 percent stake through Equinor Energy AS. Var Energi ASA owns 40 percent. INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS has 15 percent.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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