How Eirin is raising the bar

We’re changing the pace of how we work on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. We need to explore more and move faster. We also need to work in a more standardised way and collaborate more closely. In short: we need to do it like Eirin.

Eirin may sound like a person but it’s a field near Gina Krog, about 250 kilometres west of Stavanger. It was first discovered in 1978 during surveys around the Sleipner Vest discovery. At the time, it was considered far too small.

Back then, Eirin was a ‘David’ up against the era’s huge ‘Goliath’ developments - it just couldn’t make the case to be brought on stream. Times have changed and today it’s the smaller projects that matter, because we don’t expect to find many more large fields. That means developing smaller fields around the installations we already have.

That’s why we put a team together in 2023 to take a fresh run at developing Eirin. It wasn’t a simple task. They had to move fast, work closely together and manage major financial uncertainty while working on a tight schedule.

Major field developments have typically taken up to 10 years. For little Eirin, the team had a maximum of three.

On Eirin, the bigger picture and the short deadline set the course. That forces you to think differently.

“You can’t be a perfectionist about every last detail. You have to strike the balance between what’s ‘good enough’ and what makes the whole thing work,” Annika adds.

That balance shaped the entire process. With the deadline breathing down their necks, fast decisions became the norm at every level.

Standardisation: the next great age of engineering

Ruth Austvoll Larsen worked on the project as a multiphase engineer. She helped ensure everything flows as it should between the well and the platform. To deliver a workable design on time and on budget, close cross-disciplinary collaboration is essential. Fresh thinking matters too, as does the willingness to challenge standard designs.

For example, it’s normally standard to use steel pipelines on the seabed to transport oil and gas up to the platform. But the Eirin team quickly realised they couldn’t source that in time. They had to think differently.

“We ended up going with a flexible pipeline, which has never been used on this kind of project before. It required a lot of work across disciplines and some persuading of different experts to land a system design that would work,” Ruth says.

The solution was a bit of additional pressure protection to safeguard the pipeline. It also meant somewhat more extensive operating procedures.

This points to another core shift in how we have to work. In the past, we could afford bespoke solutions in different areas but now we need to use off-the-shelf options. That doesn’t mean the era of great engineering is over. It’s simply changed shape.

“If we’re going to develop all these ‘little puddles’, as the smaller fields are, we have to build on older installations that already exist. That means different technologies and building blocks. The exciting part is getting them all to talk to each other,” says Inge.

Standardisation and the use of available solutions make it possible to deliver projects faster and more cost-effectively. They also put engineering expertise to work in new ways.

We have to collaborate across disciplines

Working this way requires people who can live with a bit of uncertainty. You also have to stay open-minded and keep your eyes on the bigger picture, Annika says.

She joined 1.5 months after the project kicked off in 2023 and thought, “how on earth is this going to work?” There was nothing to do but to roll up her sleeves and get on with it. Fortunately, she’s naturally upbeat and open, which is a great characteristic to have when you’re working like this.

To pull off these advanced operations, you need the right mix of people. You can’t rely only on those who see solutions.

“To move fast and find good solutions, we need teams that work well. We have to bring together people who see the whole picture and those who dive into the details and ask the right questions,” says Ruth.

They’ve spent a lot of time helping the different disciplines in the team understand each other. That makes it easier to ask good questions and work towards the same goal. Cross-disciplinary collaboration will be essential in the years ahead, along with a willingness to live with uncertainty. Everyone will have to contribute and understand each other’s roles.

Everyone is working towards the same goal

Uncertainty and rapid decision-making aren’t something only we at Equinor have to live with and manage. All our partners do too.

The Eirin project has received strong support from everyone involved; from our own operations organisation and partners to suppliers and authorities. Everyone has worked towards the same goal and helped bring the project safely home.

“Keeping our partners closely involved from the start has been key for Eirin. Once relationships were established, it was very easy to keep collaborating - we knew what to expect from each other. We also knew what mattered most. And they weren’t afraid to ask when something was unclear,” Anders explains.

There’s always a degree of uncertainty in developments like this. For Eirin, though, the downside is limited and the upside is significant. Put simply, the risk is low. We’ll get our investment back even if production ends up lower than expected. If the field produces as expected, or better, we achieve a strong return.