Equinor extends drilling contract for Johan Sverdrup

In continuation of the initial 2-year firm term, the contract has now been extended by 5 months to complete an eight well program for the Johan Sverdrup Unit. The contract still includes five 1-year options available for Equinor following the extension.

Alex Procyk

Oct. 31, 2025

2 min read

Key Highlights

· Equinor extended the contract for the Deepsea Bollsta mobile rig for drilling on Johan Sverdrup.

· The contract has been extended by 5 months to complete an 8 well program.

Equinor Energy AS has extended its contract with Northern Ocean Ltd. for the Deepsea Bollsta mobile rig for drilling on Johan Sverdrup.

Johan Sverdrup, which accounts for about one third of Norwegian oil production, lies on the Utsira High (Utsirahøyden) in the central part of the North Sea, 65 km northeast of Sleipner field in water depths of 115 m.

The main reservoir contains oil in Upper Jurassic intra-Draupne sandstone. The reservoir depth is 1,900 m. The quality of the main reservoir is excellent with very high permeability. The remaining oil resources are in sandstone in the Upper Triassic Statfjord Group and Middle to Upper Jurassic Vestland Group, as well as in spiculites in the Upper Jurassic Viking Group. Oil was also proven in Permian Zechstein carbonates.

Equinor is operator of the field with 42.6267% interest. Partners are Aker BP (31.5733%), Petoro AS (17.36%), and TotalEnergies EP Norge AS (8.44%).

About the Author

Alex Procyk

Upstream Editor

Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).