Equinor announced that production began on September 19 at the Askeladd Vest subsea field in the Barents Sea, boosting long-term gas supplies to Norway’s Melkøya liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant. The new development includes two wells installed on a subsea template tied back to the Askeladd field, which started production in 2022.
Grete B. Haaland, senior vice president for Exploration and Production North at Equinor, stated, “Askeladd Vest is a key phase in developing the Snøhvit field.
Also it will support maintaining full production at Hammerfest LNG, located on Melkøya Island, is Northern Europe’s only LNG production and export facility. It processes approximately 6.5 billion standard cubic meters of gas annually—equivalent to about 5% of Norway’s total gas exports and around 2% of the European Union’s gas demand. LNG carriers depart the terminal roughly every five days, shipping gas to European markets.
The Askeladd Vest field holds estimated recoverable gas volumes of 15 billion cubic meters (bcm). Project investments exceeded NOK 3 billion, reflecting substantial deliveries from the Norwegian supplier industry and contributing positively at local, regional, and national levels.
Askeladd Vest is part of the phased development plan for the Snøhvit project, situated approximately 195 kilometers from Melkøya. Equinor Energy AS operates the project with a 36.79% stake, alongside partners including Petoro AS, TotalEnergies EP Norge, Vår Energi ASA and Harbour Energy Norge AS.