Equinor accelerates start-up schedule for Johan Sverdrup
Equinor and its partners are preparing for production start from the world class Johan Sverdrup field already in October this year, one month ahead of schedule. Equinor also presents updated operating costs and strong cash flow estimates for the initial year of production, the company said in its release.
The Johan Sverdrup development continues to progress well through the final stages of preparation for operations. As a result, Equinor and its partners Lundin Norway, Petoro, Aker BP and Total, are accelerating the planned schedule for production start-up.
Since the Plan for development and operation (PDO) for Phase 1 of the Johan Sverdrup project was submitted in 2015, the project has seen both a significant cost reduction as well as an acceleration in the start-up schedule of the large development from late December 2019 to now October.
The current focus of the Johan Sverdrup project is on completing the testing of the equipment and systems needed for the full field centre – spanning four platforms and three interconnected bridges and associated modules – to function and perform as one installation.
Assuming all testing can be completed without encountering any issues with critical equipment, start-up of production should be ready to commence during the month of October.
After reaching plateau for the first phase of the Johan Sverdrup development, expected during the summer of 2020, Equinor expects operating costs below USD 2 per barrel. The operator also expects cash flow from operations of around USD 50 per barrel in 2020, based on a real oil price of USD 70 per barrel, partly as a result of the phasing of tax payments in the ramp-up phase.
