3.2.5.4 - Energy development and supply strategies

Sverdrup resource and network

Johan Sverdrup shows why a geological discovery must be connected to production, processing and transport before it becomes delivered supply.

The field lies on the Utsira High in the central North Sea. The Norwegian Offshore Directorate records discovery in 2010, Phase I production from 2019 and Phase II from 2022. Oil is held in Upper Jurassic sandstone. Water depth is about 115 m, while reservoir depth is about 1,900 m: the depth of the sea and the depth of the reservoir are different measurements. Official field record.

Exploration and appraisal established the resource; development installed wells, platforms and connections. Oil is stabilised and sent by pipeline to Mongstad. Gas joins Statpipe for onward transport to Kårstø. Shore power is supplied through the Kårstø/Haugsneset system to offshore facilities. Oil export, gas export and incoming electricity are different flows; shore power is not an exported fuel.

Equinor and its partners bring investment and expertise; Norway regulates the field and gains economic benefits through ownership and taxation. Coastal terminals and distant customers connect the field to wider markets. Production does not guarantee equal benefits for every community, nor eliminate dependence on maintenance, demand and transport.

Equinor's 1 July 2025 account reports field capacity of 755,000 barrels/day and 260 million barrels of oil produced in 2024. The latter averages about $260\,000\,000/366=710\,383$ barrels/day because 2024 was a leap year. It is an operator-reported annual outcome, not a guarantee of output every day; capacity is a different measure. Phase III's expected fourth-quarter 2027 start is a plan, not observed production. Equinor dated account.

Field and corridor impacts

An energy network's environmental effects occur at several locations and throughout its lifecycle.

The November 2014 field EIA predicted lower platform CO₂ and nitrogen-oxide emissions through shore power. Drilling, transport, heating and emergency flaring still produce emissions. Burning exported oil produces downstream emissions; low operational intensity is not a low whole-lifecycle impact.

The EIA proposed three-stage treatment and reinjection of produced water. Its 98% injection-system availability was a design target, allowing discharge during outages, rather than a measured performance rate. Drilling cuttings can cover benthic organisms; assessment of local effects and accidental-spill risk uses modelling and assumptions. Spill-response planning reduces risk but cannot establish that accidents are impossible.

Its planned field-centre safety-zone footprint was about 2 km², with fisheries access also affected by temporary rigs and vessel activity. These are spatial restrictions distinct from pollution. Field-area claims about sensitive habitats cannot be extended to every pipeline corridor.