Equinor and its partners in Gullfaks and Snorre oil fields in the Norwegian North Sea are considering the use of floating wind turbines to supply electrical power to the platforms.
Equinor said a study of the concept identified the Tampen-area fields as the most promising on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for application of a concept it calls Hywind.
Due further study is a wind farm comprising 11 turbines atop vertical spars with total output of 88 Mw.
Equinor estimates the system could meet 35% of the annual needs of the Snorre A and B and Gullfaks A, B, and C platforms, lowering emissions of carbon dioxide by more than 200,000 tonnes/year.
It estimates preliminary capital and development expenditures at 5 billion kroner ($600 million) and says a final investment decision is possible in 2019.
Equinor’s Gullfaks partners are Petoro AS and OMV (Norge) AS. Its Snorre partners are Petoro, ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Norway AS, Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS, DEA Norge AS, and Point Resources AS.
