Johan Casteberg FPSO arrives offshore Norway with 2024 oil production start date in sight
(WO) – On Sept. 17, Equinor announced that the Johan Casteberg floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) is now securely anchored in the Barents Sea offshore Norway.
The hook-up of the FPSO to the subsea facilities, preparing it for production start-up towards the end of the year, will now begin. The FPSO is 313 m long, 55 m wide and 120 m high. Its design storage capacity is 1.1 MMbbl of oil.
"This is an important milestone for Equinor and its partners Vår Energi and Petoro.Johan Castberg strengthens Norway's role as a reliable, long-term energy supplier. The field will create great value for society, and long-term ripple effects and jobs. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed," says Trond Bokn, Equinor's senior vice president Project development.
Haaland, Equinor's senior vice president for Exploration & Production North.
Johan Castberg is a large oil field with estimated recoverable volumes of between 450 and 650 MMbbl. The field will produce for 30 years, and at its peak, Johan Castberg may produce 220,000 bpd.
The field development concept includes 30 wells distributed across ten subsea templates and two satellites that will now be tied back to the FPSO. So far, 13 of these wells have been drilled, and drilling operations will continue into 2026.
Johan Castberg consists of three discoveries: Skrugard, Havis and Drivis, which were made between 2011 and 2013.
Johan Castberg is located 240 km northwest of Hammerfest. The field has a supply and helicopter base in Hammerfest and an operations organization in Harstad.
"Johan Castberg is important for our development plans in Northern Norway. When the field comes on stream, a new province will be opened for oil recovery in the Barents Sea. This provides new opportunities for the exploration for and development of new discoveries in the area. Working with our partners we are already maturing five discoveries towards a possible tie-in to Johan Castberg," says Grete Birgitte Haaland, Equinor's senior vice president for Exploration & Production North.
The Johan Casteberg licensees are: Equinor Energy AS (operator) 50%, Vår Energi ASA 30% and Petoro AS 20%.
