Johan Castberg
The Johan Castberg (formerly Skrugard) field is situated approximately 100 kilometres north of the Snøhvit-field in the Barents Sea.
The Johan Castberg field development project’s resource base consists of the three oil discoveries Skrugard, Havis and Drivis, located in PL 532.
To achieve profitability in the project after the fall in the oil price in 2014-15, Equinor and the partners had to change the design concept and develop new solutions in order to be able to carry out the development.
development solution
The field will be developed with an FPSO+ production vessel with additional subsea soluitions. Compared with the original solution, costs have been reduced from approximately 100 billion NOK to 50 billion. At sea level, the FPSO will be visible—but it is under water that the true size of the field is seen. Castberg is a large subsea field, and is key to the possible further development and infrastructure in the Barents Sea.
Evaluate the economics of an oil terminal at Veidnes
The Johan Castberg licence will also spend more time investigating the possibility of realising a stand-alone oil terminal on Veidnes. An onshore terminal could also be an alternative in combination with offshore oil offloading. However, there are significant differences in costs between a concept based on bringing the oil to shore in a pipeline and a concept based on offshore oil offloading. Equinor and its partners will therefore continue to work to optimise opportunities in the area and the timing of project activities. An investment decision on a possible terminal will be made in 2019.
Johan Castberg is a breakthrough in unexplored areas where we must interact with other interests, such as the fisheries. At the same time, this is a development which will have ripple effects including an impact on technology and expertise building in the supplier industry—particularly in the north.
- The Equinor-operated discoveries Skrugard from 2011, Havis from 2012 and Drivis from 2014 comprise what is now the Johan Castberg project.
- The proven volumes in Johan Castberg are estimated at between 400 and 650 million barrels of oil
- Location: Situated approx. 100 kilometres north of the Snøhvit-field in the Barents Sea in blocks 7219/9 and 7220/4,5,7, about 100 km north of the Snøhvit field, 150 km from Goliat and nearly 240 km from Melkøya. The water depth is 360-390 meters, 7 km between Skrugard and Havis
- The discoveries: Skrugard April 2011, Havis January 2012, Drivis May 2014
Norwegian petroleum pages on Johan Castberg.