Equinor and its partners have today submitted for public consultation a proposed programme for the environmental impact assessment of a possible Wisting field development in the Barents Sea.
The project is still at an early stage, and further progress will depend on additional improvements to achieve a profitable and viable project.
Wisting is the largest oil discovery on the Norwegian continental shelf yet to be developed, with estimated recoverable volumes of just under 500 million barrels of oil equivalent.
"We have made significant improvements to Wisting since the postponement in 2022, but considerable work remains before we can determine whether there is a basis for a final investment decision. Power from shore has been thoroughly assessed but was ruled out due to technical complexity and high costs. We are now continuing our work on power generation based on an energy-efficient gas turbine solution," says Trond Bokn, Equinor's senior vice president for project development.
The partnership has selected a floating production and storage vessel (FPSO) for Wisting. As part of the continued work, the project will also assess the potential for carbon capture and storage (CCS), with the aim of reducing CO₂ emissions from production. Such a solution is relevant for Wisting given the size of the power facility and the fact that the installation is being developed as a newbuild.
Further maturation work and sub-studies are now under way in the project. The partnership plans to decide on the final concept selection and possible continuation towards the end of 2026. The solutions must meet requirements for safe and efficient operations in the Barents Sea.
Any continuation of a CCS solution will depend on the necessary technological and regulatory conditions being in place within acceptable cost and time frames, both for the power turbine and for a possible CCS facility. A final investment decision is planned for the end of 2027.
If the project is realised, Wisting will generate substantial revenues for Norwegian society. A development would also create significant ripple effects in the Norwegian supplier industry, both during the development phase and throughout operations:
- The largest and most lasting ripple effects from Wisting will come from around 30 years of operations. Nearly all activity related to operations will take place in Norway and contribute to value creation and jobs in industry nationally and regionally for decades to come.
- Drilling and wells, together with the subsea development, account for around half of the total investment in a Wisting development. The majority of this activity will generate value creation in Norwegian industry.
- Norwegian suppliers will be given an exclusive opportunity to demonstrate competitiveness in the engineering, procurement and construction of the modules for the production vessel on Wisting. In addition, procurement activity will create significant opportunities for the many equipment suppliers in Norway.
- The hull itself cannot be built at Norwegian yards due to size and necessary infrastructure.
The proposed programme for the environmental impact assessment is now being submitted for public consultation as part of the continued maturation of the project. The public consultation period is set at 16 weeks.
More information is available on equinor.com – see the link below.
Licensees in Wisting: *Equinor Energy AS (42,5%), *Aker BP ASA (27,5%), Petoro AS (20%) and INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS (10%).
*After transactions between Equinor and Aker BP, pending government approval.
