The Norwegian Parliament approved the plan for development and operation of the Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea, on Monday 11 June. The plan will now be submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for formal approval.
The field will be operated by Equinor, and its first oil scheduled for 2022. The field development includes a production vessel and a subsea system, 30 wells distributed on 10 templates and 2 satellite structures. This is currently the largest subsea field under development globally.
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The Johan Castberg field will have a supply and helicopter base in Hammerfest and an operations organisation in Harstad. The costs of operating the field are estimated at some NOK 1.15 billion per year.
This represents about 1700 man-years nationwide, some 500 of which will be performed in Northern Norway. This includes both direct and indirect spinoffs.
Knut Gjertsen, project director for Johan Castberg, mentioned:
The project is on schedule, and gradually we will see the results of the construction work. Many yards and companies across the country will be busy with Johan Castberg deliveries in the years to come.
The field consists of Equinor which is the operator with 50%, Eni Norge with 30% and Petoro with 20%.
