Equinor takes FID on Lavrans, Kristin Q fields

Norwegian state producer Equinor has taken final investment decision to develop the Lavrans and Kristin Q discoveries, known as Kristin South, it said June 30. Its partners are state Petoro, French TotalEnergies and Eni-led Var Energi, which acquired its stake when it bought ExxonMobil's assets.

Capital expenditures for this first phase will be about 6.5bn Norwegian krone ($760mn). Lavrans and Kristin Q will be developed as one project with a shared pipeline to the Kristin platform, whose life will be extended at least until 2034 and possibly to 2042. Production from the first three wells, two at Lavrans and one at Kristin Q, is scheduled to start in 2024 with the last two wells at Lavrans in 2025.

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“The decision to develop the Kristin South area will generate substantial value for society and the owners," Equinor said, adding it had awarded contracts locally worth about 2.2bn krone. The expected production in phase 1 of the Kristin South project is estimated at 6.2bn m³ of gas, with some oil making a total of 58.2mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

Production from Lavrans and Kristin Q will be tied into the Kristin platform. A subsea template will be installed at Lavrans, while at Kristin Q an already installed subsea template will be reused. A total of five wells are planned to be drilled, four at Lavrans and one at Kristin Q.

"Extending the productive life by using the infrastructure we have on the NCS for satellite developments is very important and ensures good profitability and low CO₂ emissions,” said Equinor.

Lavrans was discovered in 1995 and has a large gas volume although the geology is not simple. The four Lavrans wells  will have "long horizontal production zones in the reservoir," Equinor said. Kristin Q is in the southern part of the Kristin field and is a high-pressure, high-temperature reservoir. 

Later development work could include a next phase of Lavrans, as well as possible development of the Erlend and Ragnfrid discoveries. The CO₂ intensity of Kristin South phase 1 is less than 1 kg CO2/boe. The emissions will mainly be generated from the project’s drilling activities.