Equinor submits plan for further development of Troll

Equinor (formerly Statoil) and partners in the Troll licence have submitted a plan for further development of the gigantic Troll field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

‘The third phase of the Troll development realises 2.2bn boe, it has a break-even of less than $10/b and a carbon intensity of 0.1 kg/b. This is probably one of the most profitable and robust projects in the company’s history,’ says Margareth Øvrum, Executive Vice President for Technology, Projects and Drilling, Equinor.

The capital expenditures for the project are estimated to be NKr7.8bn ($0.96bn), helping extend the productive life of the Troll field beyond 2050.

Current export volumes from Troll are reportedly equivalent to 8% of the European Union’s gas consumption.

Troll partners are Equinor (30.58%, operator), Petoro (56%), Norske Shell (8.10%), Total E&P Norge (3.69%) and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia (1.62%).

The Troll field consists of two reservoirs – Troll West and Troll East. The gas in Troll East is produced on the Troll A platform and piped to the Kollnes terminal, and then transported to Europe in the Zeepipe pipelines. The thin oil zone in Troll West is produced on the Troll B and Troll C platforms and piped to the oil terminal at Mongstad.

Troll is Norway’s biggest gas producer, with enormous reserves still left in the ground. After more than 20 years onstream, about 65% of the gas has still not been recovered. Troll has also been Norway’s biggest oil producer for the past five years. The annual energy production from the Troll field is equivalent to about three times the annual Norwegian water power production.

Due to the enormous resources, development and production is planned in three phases:

• Phase 1 is the gas in Troll East, which resulted in Troll A, the Kollnes gas processing plant and the associated infrastructure.
• Phase 2 is the oil in Troll West, which resulted in the Troll B and C platforms and associated infrastructure.
• In Phase 3, the gas cap over the oil column in Troll West will be produced, at the same time as oil production continues.

A subsea solution tied-back to the Troll A platform has been selected as a concept for Troll Phase 3. The subsea development will include the construction and installation of two subsea templates, drilling of eight production wells, laying of a 36-inch pipeline and installation of a new processing module on the Troll A platform. The development will be powered from shore.

Aker Solutions has been awarded the contracts for the delivery of subsea facilities and construction of the processing module.

The Troll Phase 3 project will extend the plateau production for gas from the Troll field by about seven years, and the expected productive life by about 17 years.

Troll
Source: Equinor