Norwegian oil and gas giant Equinor has said the country’s largest oilfield will start to see a decline in production next year, after reaching an output plateau in 2024.
Johan Sverdrup achieved a record daily output of more than 756,000bopd in September, said operator Equinor in a statement on Thursday.
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The field, which began full production in 2019 after several years of testing and assessment, has already yielded more than one billion barrels (bbbl), and is said to hold almost 3bbbl of oil equivalent.
Equinor has a 42.6% stake in Sverdrup, while Aker BP holds 31.6%, with Petoro holding 17.4% and TotalEnergies 8.4%.
Equinor also reported a fall of 13% in third-quarter (Q3) profits, as weaker oil prices throughout 2024 and lower production took its toll.
The company adjusted down earnings before tax for July–September to $6.89bn (Nkr75.22bn), from $7.93bn a year earlier.
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By GlobalDataAnders Opedal, CEO, Equinor, said in a statement that with “solid operational performance and results, we are well on track to deliver strong cashflow from operations in line with what we said at the capital markets update in February”.
This year’s organic capital expenditure is now estimated at around $12bn, down from a previous forecast of $13bn.
Investments in Norwegian oil and gas projects are expected to reach record highs this year, and remain high in 2025.
According to Norway’s statistics office, SSB, ongoing developments in manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and electricity supply in the oil and gas industry are the driving factors behind record investment, estimated at $35bn for 2024.
This is a 16% increase from estimates made this time last year for 2023.
In September, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate announced that 21 companies have submitted applications for production licences as part of the Award in Pre-defined Areas 2024 (APA 2024) licensing round.
APA, an annual event, targets well-known exploration areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf that are not currently licensed, with the majority of available exploration areas included.
Announced in May 2024, APA 2024 saw the expansion of acreage by a total of 37 blocks in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea.
