Equinor advances Barents Sea Wisting project toward FID
(WO) — Equinor and its partners have submitted a proposed environmental impact assessment (EIA) program for the Wisting development in the Barents Sea, marking another step toward a potential final investment decision on Norway's largest undeveloped oil discovery.
The proposed EIA program has been submitted for a 16-week public consultation period as the partnership continues to mature the project, which contains estimated recoverable resources of nearly 500 MMboe.
Wisting remains in the early stages of development following its postponement in 2022, and Equinor said further progress will depend on continued efforts to improve the project's commercial viability.
"We have made significant improvements to Wisting since the postponement in 2022, but considerable work remains before we can determine whether there is a basis for a final investment decision," said Trond Bokn, Equinor's senior vice president for project development.
The partners have selected a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel as the preferred development concept. Equinor said the project team also will evaluate the potential application of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reduce production-related emissions, although any CCS solution will depend on technological, regulatory and commercial feasibility.
After evaluating alternatives, the partnership ruled out supplying the project with power from shore, citing technical complexity and high costs. Instead, the current concept calls for power generation using an energy-efficient gas turbine system.
Additional engineering studies and concept maturation work are underway, with a decision on the final development concept expected by the end of 2026. If the project advances, the partners are targeting a final investment decision by the end of 2027.
Located on the Norwegian continental shelf in the Barents Sea, Wisting is the largest oil discovery yet to be developed offshore Norway. The field is operated by Equinor, with partners Aker BP, Petoro and INPEX Idemitsu Norge, subject to pending government approval of recent ownership transactions.
