Production from the $2 billion, Equinor-led Breidablikk field development in the North Sea began on 20 October, 4 months ahead of schedule and within budget. Tied back to the Grane platform, the subsea field holds almost 200 million bbl of recoverable oil.
Breidablikk is being developed with 22 subsea wells drilled from four templates. Pipelines and cables have been installed between the subsea facility and the Grane platform, which has been modified to receive the new hydrocarbon volumes.
"Breidablikk will come on stream 4 months ahead of schedule, within budget, and with higher initial production than expected,” said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s executive vice president for projects, drilling, and procurement. “The project is highly profitable, provides important volumes to the market, and will create great value for Norwegian society and the owners. Nearly five million working hours have gone into the project.”
When the plan for development and operation (PDO) was submitted in September 2020, production from Breidablikk was scheduled to start in the first half of 2024, with predrilling and completion of five wells. Now, eight wells have already been drilled, and the drilling of additional wells will continue until the end of 2025.
"Breidablikk can help to extend the productive life and the approximately 1,000 jobs associated with the operation of the Grane field towards 2060,” said Kjetil Hove, Equinor's executive vice president for exploration and production Norway. “By utilizing existing infrastructure both offshore and onshore, this is a cost-effective development. At peak, Breidablikk is expected to send up to 55,000–60,000 bbl of oil to the market daily, mainly to Europe.”
The oil from Breidablikk is processed on Grane and sent ashore by pipeline to the Sture terminal in Øygarden. Oil will account for about 15% of exports from Sture in the years to come.
Equinor operates Breidablikk with a 39% working interest. Partners include Vår Energi ASA (34.4%), Petoro (22.2%), and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (4.4%).
Discovered in 1992, Breidablikk is in the central part of the North Sea, 10 km northeast of Grane, in 130 m of water.
The field is expected to produce at plateau level of around 60,000 B/D in the period 2024 to 2026.
