Equinor Energy AS plans to convert Norwegian Sea Njord A platform to electric operations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the operator said in a release Dec. 15. The electrification project is a collaboration with OKEA ASA’s development of power infrastructure from shore to its operated Draugen field (OGJ Online, Dec. 15, 2022).
The company submitted a revised plan for development and operation (PDO) to the Ministry of Petroleum and Industry. The revised plans for PDO and for installation and operation (PIO) must be approved by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
“Njord A and the Njord Bravo floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel returned to the field this autumn after extensive upgrading and will soon be ready for 20 more years of production and value creation,” said Trond Bokn, Equinor’s senior vice-president for project development. “We are now continuing the modernization of Njord by converting to electric operation. This will cut emissions from production and reduce Norwegian CO2 emissions by more than 130,000 tonnes/year from 2027,” he said.
Electrification of Njord will also benefit Hyme, Bauge, and Fenja tie-back fields. These fields help finance the project, the operator said.
OKEA will be responsible for developing the power infrastructure from shore to Draugen. Equinor will be responsible for the cable from Draugen to Njord as well as modifications and upgrading on Njord A, where the two existing gas turbines for main power production will be replaced by electric power from shore via Draugen. Based on this, around 60% of the power needed by Njord A will be covered by electricity, and the Njord Bravo FSO will be fully electrified, Equinor said.
In total, the electrification of Draugen and Njord will cut 330,000 tpy of CO2 emissions, the company continued.
The fields will have a total power demand of up to 80 Mw/year and will be connected to the power grid at a transformer station at Straum in Åfjord municipality. Operated by Tension, the transformer station has a capacity of 200 Mw, and the project does not require a grid upgrading.
The investment estimate for the whole project is around NOK 7.3 billion, of which some NOK 3 billion covers the share of the Njord license.
Start-up is expected in first-quarter 2027.
Equinor is operator at Njord with 27.5% interest. Partners are Wintershall Dea Norge AS (50%) and Neptune Energy Norge AS (22.5%).
