BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 5. The Eirin gas field
has officially started production and is now exporting gas to
Europe through the Gina Krog and Sleipner A platforms in the North
Sea, with the subsea development completed in record time, Trend
reports via Norway’s Equinor company,
Located around 250 kilometres west of Stavanger in approximately
120 metres of water, the Eirin discovery—first made in 1978—was
initially abandoned due to insufficient profitability. However,
following shifts in Europe’s energy landscape after Russia’s
full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the field was reassessed in 2023
and fast-tracked for development.
Expected recoverable resources from Eirin are estimated at
around 27.6 million barrels of oil equivalent, primarily gas.
The project has been developed as a subsea installation
featuring a two-slot template, tied back to the Gina Krog platform.
The produced volumes are further processed at Sleipner A, a key hub
for Norwegian gas exports to Europe. Gas is transported via the
Gassled system, while liquids are sent to Kårstø for processing and
export. The infrastructure allows for future phased expansions and
potential tie-ins of additional nearby discoveries.
Total investment in the project is estimated at NOK 4.5 billion
and is expected to extend the economic life of the Gina Krog
platform from 2029 to 2036.
The licence partners include Equinor, which serves as operator
with a 58.7% stake, and ORLEN Upstream Norway AS, holding
41.3%.
From project initiation in January 2023 to first production, the
development took just three years. Equinor’s final investment
decision was reached in only 4.5 months, underscoring the
accelerated timeline enabled by existing North Sea infrastructure
and subsea tie-back solutions.
