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Released November 30, 2022 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Norway's Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger) and partners have committed to spending 14.8 billion Norwegian crowns (US$1.44 billion) to develop the Irpa gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea.
A plan for development and operation (PDO) of the Irpa gas discovery, formerly known as Asterix, has been submitted to the Norwegian Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Terje Aasland. It will supply gas to Europe and the U.K.. The field is scheduled to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2026. Expected recoverable gas resources are estimated at approximately 20 billion standard cubic meters (bcm), equivalent to 124 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). "This is a good day--the development of Irpa will contribute to predictable and long-term deliveries of gas to customers in the EU and the U.K.," said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor's executive vice president for Projects, Drilling and Procurement. The company said it would be enough to power 2.4 million British households over a period of seven years. Industrial Info is tracking four projects associated with Irpa.
The subsea project in the Arctic Circle is the deepest field development on the Norwegian continental shelf at 1,350 meters and Equinor's only deepwater project. The Irpa field will be developed with three wells and an 80-kilometer (km)-long insulated pipe-in-pipe pipeline to the Aasta Hansteen floating production storage and offloading unit. The development solution is a subsea template with four well slots tied back to Aasta Hansteen. It will extend the lifetime of Aasta Hansteen from 2032 to 2039. There will be joint production from Irpa and Aasta Hansteen through 2031 and then Irpa will continue to produce until 2039. Gas will be transported to the Nyhamna gas processing plant via Polarled. From there, it will be transported via the Langeled pipeline system to customers in the U.K. and continental Europe.
Hogne Pedersen, project director for Irpa, said the project's location has presented new challenges. Due to the extreme cold on the seabed, a newly-developed insulated pipe solution will be used for the pipeline to Aasta Hansteen. It employs a swaged pipe-in-pipe design with a combination of insulation and vacuum between the inner and outer pipes, together with mono-ethylene-glycol (MEG) injection to reduce the formation of hydrates in the multiphase well stream. "It has been challenging to develop Irpa. Deep water and low temperatures on the seabed have necessitated the qualification of innovative new technology for pipelines, but good support in the partnership and increased demand for gas have made an investment decision possible."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
A plan for development and operation (PDO) of the Irpa gas discovery, formerly known as Asterix, has been submitted to the Norwegian Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Terje Aasland. It will supply gas to Europe and the U.K.. The field is scheduled to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2026. Expected recoverable gas resources are estimated at approximately 20 billion standard cubic meters (bcm), equivalent to 124 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe). "This is a good day--the development of Irpa will contribute to predictable and long-term deliveries of gas to customers in the EU and the U.K.," said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor's executive vice president for Projects, Drilling and Procurement. The company said it would be enough to power 2.4 million British households over a period of seven years. Industrial Info is tracking four projects associated with Irpa.
The subsea project in the Arctic Circle is the deepest field development on the Norwegian continental shelf at 1,350 meters and Equinor's only deepwater project. The Irpa field will be developed with three wells and an 80-kilometer (km)-long insulated pipe-in-pipe pipeline to the Aasta Hansteen floating production storage and offloading unit. The development solution is a subsea template with four well slots tied back to Aasta Hansteen. It will extend the lifetime of Aasta Hansteen from 2032 to 2039. There will be joint production from Irpa and Aasta Hansteen through 2031 and then Irpa will continue to produce until 2039. Gas will be transported to the Nyhamna gas processing plant via Polarled. From there, it will be transported via the Langeled pipeline system to customers in the U.K. and continental Europe.
Hogne Pedersen, project director for Irpa, said the project's location has presented new challenges. Due to the extreme cold on the seabed, a newly-developed insulated pipe solution will be used for the pipeline to Aasta Hansteen. It employs a swaged pipe-in-pipe design with a combination of insulation and vacuum between the inner and outer pipes, together with mono-ethylene-glycol (MEG) injection to reduce the formation of hydrates in the multiphase well stream. "It has been challenging to develop Irpa. Deep water and low temperatures on the seabed have necessitated the qualification of innovative new technology for pipelines, but good support in the partnership and increased demand for gas have made an investment decision possible."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
