The plan for development and operation (PDO) of the Breidablikk field in the North Sea has been approved by Norwegian authorities. Field investments are approximately NOK 18.6bn. Production from the field is scheduled to start in the first half of 2024.
Equinor and its partners Petoro, Vår Energi, and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia, submitted the development plans for the area to the authorities in September 2020. The estimated recovery from the field is around 200 million barrels of oil.
70% of the value creation in the development phase goes to Norwegian companies, and contracts totalling NOK 8bn have already been awarded to companies in Norway.
The Breidablikk development will include a subsea solution of 23 oil-producing wells from four subsea templates. The field will be tied back to the Grane platform for processing before the oil is piped to the Sture terminal. The production will be monitored by high-tech digital tools from Equinor’s integrated operations centre at Sandsli, securing high-value creation from the wells.
The Breidablikk field development will include a separate cable for the supply of electric power and fiber optic communication from the Grane platform. This is a relatively new technology that can reduce the costs associated with any further development of the field, in addition to facilitating the use of docking stations for subsea drones on the seabed.
Breidablikk will be phased in during a period of falling oil production from Grane and will therefore help maintain the platform activity level. The project has started the modification work on the Grane platform.