Tuesday 15 May 2018

Statoil gets started on shoring up North Sea emissions

A huge oil field off the coast of Norway will soon be producing oil with some of the lowest CO2 emissions worldwide.

Work has begun on laying 200km of power cables to connect Statoil’s Johan Sverdrup field to shore, cutting out the need for gas turbines at sea.

The cables are expected to make Johan Sverdrup one of the most carbon efficient oil and gas fields in the world, with emissions around 30 times lower than the international average.

The project will support Statoil’s target of reducing its annual emissions by three million tonnes by 2030.

Trond Bokn, Senior Vice President for the field said: “We are now laying the very lifeline of the Johan Sverdrup field, which will supply the field with power from shore for more than 50 years.

“The world is facing considerable challenges ensuring access to enough energy while doing so in a more climate-friendly way. Over the next 50 years, the field’s considerable reserves will be used to produce significant amounts of energy with low CO2 emissions.”

The cabling will also include a fibre-optic cable, which will ensure good communication and allow remote monitoring and control of operations from shore if required.