Snefrid Nord, the first discovery tied back to the Aasta Hansteen platform in the Norwegian Sea, has started production, Equinor said in a news release Sept. 4.

“Snefrid Nord has been delivered without any serious injuries, ahead of schedule and within the cost estimate,” Geir Tungesvik, senior vice president of project development for Equinor, said in the statement.

The gas field was originally set to start production at the end of 2019, Equinor said.

With estimated recoverable resources of 4.4 billion standard cubic meters, Snefrid Nord is expected to produce 4 million cubic meters of gas per day on plateau. It includes one well in a subsea template installed at a water depth of 1,309 m, which Equinor said is the deepest field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It is tied back to Aasta Hansteen, which came onstream in December.

The company said more satellites may be developed in the area now that infrastructure is in place.

“There are several interesting prospects and discoveries around us. The new infrastructure makes it possible to develop them and more attractive to explore around the platform and along the pipeline,” Siri Espedal Kindem, senior vice president for operations north for Equinor. “There is high exploration activity and several discoveries already in the area.”

With 51% interest, Equinor Energy AS is the operator. Partners are Wintershall Dea (24%), OMG (Norge) AS (15%) and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (10%).

Offshore