Equinor, along with its partners, has decided to make a Nkr12bn ($1.13bn) investment in the North Sea Troll gas field to further increase production.  

The investment will be used to further develop the field infrastructure to ensure that high gas export levels from the Troll and Kollsnes value chain are maintained up to 2030. 

As per the plan, the second stage of the Troll Phase 3 project will involve the drilling of eight new wells from two new templates, with subsea controls extended from existing templates.  

The first wells from this initiative are expected to commence production by the end of 2026. 

Additionally, a new gas flowline will be laid as a tie-back to the Troll A platform, which will also undergo modification work.  

The infrastructure enhancement is expected to fast-track production equivalent to approximately 55 billion standard cubic metres of gas. 

At the peak of its performance, the annual output from the new development is projected to be around seven billion cubic metres of gas.  

The initial stage of gas production from the Troll West gas province, which commenced in 2021, included eight wells, a new pipeline to the Troll A platform and a new inlet module, extending plateau production by five to seven years.  

The upcoming stage two is expected to further prolong plateau production by around four years and mitigate the production decline over the subsequent ten to 12 years. 

Recent upgrades at the Kollsnes processing plant have led to an increase in the plateau production of Troll gas, Equinor said.  

The maximum production capacity, previously at 121 million standard cubic metres per day, has now risen to 129 million standard cubic metres per day.  

The new wells are set to contribute approximately 20 million standard cubic metres of gas per day.  

Once processed at Kollsnes, the gas is transported via the Zeepipe pipelines to various receiving terminals across Europe. 

Equinor executive vice-president of projects, drilling & procurement Geir Tungesvik said: "This is a highly profitable project that will secure high gas production from the Troll field. The partnership's decision is important in order for us to fully utilise the capacity of existing infrastructure.” 

Equinor, as the operator, holds a 30.58% stake in the field, with partners Petoro at 56%, Shell at 8.10%, TotalEnergies EP Norge at 3.69% and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia at 1.62%.  

Earlier in the week, Equinor reported a new oil discovery at the Svalin field in the Norwegian North Sea.