Equinor’s Johan Sverdrup Field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea tested successfully at production rates of 755,000 bbl/d.

Equinor, the operator of the field, announced May 23 that the capacity test earlier in the week confirmed the field can produce at that rate – a record high for the field. Overall, the field produces 31,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) of gas.

Equinor and partners Aker BP, Petoro and TotalEnergies aim to maintain production levels of oil from the field “up toward this level” going forward, the operator said in a press release.

The field was initially expected to produce 720,000 bbl/d at plateau, according to Equinor.

“This process capacity test at Johan Sverdrup confirms technically very robust facilities,” Marianne Bjelland, Equinor’s vice president exploration and production for Johan Sverdrup, said in the press release.

Located in 110 m to 120 m water depth, the Johan Sverdrup Field holds 2.7 billion boe of reserves. Equinor said it is the third largest field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). While the average recovery rate on the NCS is 47%, Equinor and its partners aim to recover 70% of reserves at Johan Sverdrup.

Phase One production began in October 2019, while Phase Two followed in December 2022.

When Phase Two began production, Equinor said it had been delivered on time and in line with the NOK 48 billion budget despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Phase Two included a new platform, five new subsea systems, 28 new wells, a new module for the existing riser platform, and facilities to send power from shore to the Utsira High area.

Offshore