The first oil pumped from the giant Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea, piped at the distance of 283 kilometres, reached the Mongstad plant, north of Bergen in Norway, where it will be stored in caverns and be shipped to markets all over the world.
According to Equinor, the first cargo is expected to be sent to Asian customers this week, and contains one million barrels with a market value of around USD 60 million, or more than half a billion NOK at the current oil price. Future cargoes are expected to contain between 600,000 and 2 million barrels.
At peak production, the field is expected to produce up to 660,000 barrels of oil daily. Johan Sverdrup, sanctioned in 2015, is the largest development on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in three decades.
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Earlier this month, the Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Kjell-Børge Freiberg, officially opened the power-from-shore solution which will provide the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea with electricity for more than 50 years.
Moreover, Equinor carried out the first phase of the field development earlier this month, regarding a field centre with four installations connected by bridges. The four installations in particular, are living quarters platform with auxiliary systems, a process platform, a drilling platform and a riser platform. Construction phase two is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Executive Vice President for Marketing, Midstream & Processing (MMP) in Equinor, Irene Rummelhoff, stated that
First oil to Mongstad only a few days after production start confirms that the field is producing well. This day also marks the start of a new phase as we prepare to bring Johan Sverdrup oil to the international market.
Rummelhoff adds that “oil from Johan Sverdrup is expected to provide revenue of more than NOK 1400 billion for the next 50 years, of which more than NOK 900 billion will go to the Norwegian state and society. Mongstad will play an important role in realising this value. At the same time, Johan Sverdrup triggers high activity at the plant and new opportunities for the future.”
In fact, Mongstad is estimated to receive more than 30% of the total oil from the Norwegian continental shelf, when Johan Sverdrup field is operating at full capacity. Also, when the second phase is completed in 2022, Mongstad will receive up to 660,000 barrels of oil per day.
