Equinor and its partners have decided to invest more than Nkr 12 billion (US$1.2 billion) to bolster gas production from the Troll facilities in response to rising demand in Europe. The Norwegian state-backed energy group confirmed that a major subsea project will tap additional gas resources in the Troll West province to maintain the current high gas export levels from the Troll infrastructure and the Kollsnes onshore terminal.
Stage 2 of the Troll Phase 3 project involves drilling eight new gas production wells and laying subsea infrastructure and an export pipeline to the Troll A fixed platform for onward transport to Kollsnes and eventually northern Europe. Well drilling and subsea installation work is planned to begin in Q4 2025 and continue into 2026 and 2027, with the first wells scheduled to come on stream at the end of 2026.
Plateau production of Troll gas has increased due to recent upgrades at the Kollsnes processing plant, from 121 million cubic meters per day (m³/day) to 129 million m³/day. Production from the new Troll wells will amount to about 20 million m³/day to maintain peak output for 12 years.
“This is a highly profitable project that will secure high gas production from the Troll field,” said Equinor executive vice president for projects, drilling, and procurement, Geir Tungesvik. He stated that the project will enable the partnership to fully utilize the capacity of existing infrastructure. This is the second stage of the broader Troll West gas development, with the first stage having started in 2021, involving eight wells and a new pipeline to the Troll A platform.
“We have been working alongside Gassco and the Norwegian authorities to maximize energy deliveries from the Norwegian continental shelf since 2022,” said Equinor executive vice president for Norwegian exploration and production, Kjetil Hove. “This project will allow Troll and Kollsnes to continue their substantial contributions to the role of Norway in guaranteeing European energy security in challenging times. The gas from Troll alone meets around 10% of Europe’s demands.”
Allseas won the contract to install the 36-inch gas pipeline from the subsea hub at Troll West to Troll A, and Odfjell Drilling secured the contract to drill eight production wells using its Deepsea Aberdeen drilling rig from Q4 2025, depending on rig availability.
OneSubsea, a joint venture between SLB, Aker Solutions, and Subsea7, secured the contract to provide and install subsea infrastructure, including the subsea wellheads and production system. It will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of wellheads, tubing hangers, subsea control modules, compact bridge modules with wet gas flow meters, two four-slot templates, topside controls integration, and two umbilicals, which will be manufactured in Moss. Structures and manifolds will be assembled in Egersund.
Equinor expects to award EPC contracts for work on the Troll A platform and other field installation work during Q3 2024.