Trestakk field starts oil production from Åsgard A platform

Equinor Energy, ExxonMobil and Vår Energi have announced the start of production from the Trestakk field in the Norwegian Sea, on time, and without any serious incidents.

The Trestakk oil and gas field, which is located on Haltenbanken Norwegian Sea in a depth of around 3,900 metres, is tied back to the Åsgard A floating production vessel, whose lifetime has been extended to 2031 by the Norwegian authorities. The Åsgard A platform recently underwent modification to handle the production from the Trestakk project.

Equinor Energy, with 59.1% stake, is the operator of the offshore Norwegian oil and gas field, while ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway holds 33% stake, and Vår Energi owns the remaining stake of 7.9%.

Located nearly 20km south of the Åsgard field, the Trestakk field is estimated to contain recoverable resources of 76 million barrels of oil.

The development of Trestakk oil and gas field involves a subsea template with four well slots and one satellite well.

Five wells will be drilled as part of the field development, with three wells for production and two for gas injection.

Subsea tieback of the Trestakk field to the Åsgard A platform. Photo courtesy of Equinor ASA.

In 2017, when the Trestakk project was cleared by the authorities, an investment of $640 million was estimated to be required for the development of the offshore Norwegian oil and gas field. The partners expect the final costs after the field startup to be $580 million.

Anders Opedal, executive vice president for Technology, Projects and Drilling in Equinor said: “Together with our partners ExxonMobil and Vår Energi we spent ample time on maturing Trestakk, and with proper assistance by our main supplier TechnipFMC we arrived at a good and profitable concept with development costs nearly halved before the investment decision was made. This proves that it is important and correct to spend sufficient time in the early phase of a project”

The Trestakk field is expected to produce around 22,000 barrels of oil per day, with peak production of around 44,000 barrels of oil per day. Production from the Trestakk oil and gas field is expected to last for 12 years.