Norwegian Platform Gets Another 10 Years

Equinor and its partners have secured approval from authorities to produce at the Troll B platform in the Norwegian North Sea for another 10 years, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said on April 20.

The permit extension means Troll B can remain online until 2030, the NPD said, enabling Troll's investors to exploit gas from the Troll Vest gas cap. This marks the third phase of the field's development, and is slated to come on stream in 2021.

Nine seismic surveys have been completed at the Troll field, identifying well targets for the next stage. These wells are to be drilled using subsea templates linked to Troll B.

The platform, in operation since 1995, is due to be upgraded to run on power supplied from shore, in order to reduce its emissions. Equinor's partners at Troll are state Petoro, Angl0-Dutch Shell, French Total and US major ConocoPhillips.