Norwegian oil firm Equinor has awarded contracts for concept studies for the development of the Wisting discovery in the Barents Sea, off Norway. 

The studies are expected to further progress the project development towards a final concept select decision. The Wisting discovery was made by OMV in 2013. Equinor took over as operator for the development of the Wisting license in December 2019.

While a lot of work remains to be done ahead of the final concept selection, Equinor and partners are assessing the use of a cylindrical FPSO for the project.

Suppliers who have been awarded contracts in connection with the start of Wisting concept studies are:  Aker Solutions, KBR Ltd., Sevan SSP and Aibel for the FPSO concept study; and Aker Solutions, TechnipFMC, OneSubsea Processing, IKM Ocean Design, and Kongsberg Maritime for SURF (Subsea Production and Processing Equipment, Umbilical, Risers and Flowlines).

Commenting on the concept studies contracts, Trond Bokn, acting senior vice president for project development in Equinor said: "Wisting is a considerable oil field in the Barents Sea, and we are cooperating well with our partners in further maturing the project. 

"Founded on experience and synergy potential within the project-portfolio we have assessed different development alternatives to identify potential solutions for a cost-effective and optimal field development."Credit: Equinor

“Based on this work, the license partners have decided to further assess a floating production unit based on a circular FPSO solution (floating production, storage and offloading). However, a lot of work remains before we can make a final concept selection during the second quarter of 2021,” says Bokn.

Equinor also said that the Wisting partners are focused on reducing the carbon footprint of the production to the lowest extent feasible.

“Electrification is considered a possible option for reducing field emissions. The project will study a power-from-shore solution for a circular FPSO going forward,” says Bokn.

In 2019, the authorities approved a transfer of the Wisting operatorship to Equinor in the development phase, while OMV will resume operatorship in the production phase. Equinor is leading the development project and personnel from OMV is well integrated in the project organization.

Partners in the Wisting project are Equinor (35%), OMV (Norge) AS (25%), Petoro AS (20%) and Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS (20%).
The partnership aims to make an investment decision for Wisting at the end of 2022.

Worth noting, should the Wisting partners opt for the cylindrical FPSO design, this would be the second such FPSO in the Norwegian Barents Sea, the first being Vår Energi's Goliat.

Production from the Goliat FPSO in the Barents Sea started in 2016.