Wedoany.com Report-Jun 23, Equinor, a Norwegian state-owned energy company, announced that its Johan Castberg field in the Barents Sea achieved full production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day on June 17, 2025. Located 100 kilometers north of the Snøhvit field, the project develops three oil discoveries—Skrugard, Havis, and Drivis—within production licence 532. The field is expected to operate for 30 years, boosting Barents Sea energy output by 150%.

Johan Castberg FPSO heading for the field in Barents Sea;

Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s Executive Vice President for Exploration & Production Norway, stated: “Johan Castberg represents a gamechanger for the importance of the Barents Sea for Norway’s future as an energy nation. Every three to four days, tank loads now depart from Johan Castberg, each of them worth around half a billion Norwegian kroner.”

Equinor, holding a 46.3% stake as the field’s operator, is partnered with Vår Energi (30%) and Petoro (23.7%). Of the planned 30 wells, 17 have been completed and are performing as expected. Hove added: “The Johan Castberg volume base initially estimated at 450-650 million barrels, our ambition is to increase the reserves by between 250-550 million barrels. We are already planning six new wells to extend plateau production.” The Isflak project, with an investment decision slated for late 2025 and production start in 2028, will further enhance output, alongside annual exploration drilling near the field.

The field’s floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit, FPSO Johan Castberg, measures 313 meters long, 55 meters wide, and 120 meters high, with a storage capacity of 1.1 million barrels. Departing Aker Solutions’ Stord yard in June 2024, it arrived at the field three months later and began production on March 31, 2025. The first cargo, approximately 700,000 barrels, was loaded onto the tanker Bodil Knutsen on May 25, 2025, for delivery to Spain. Most oil from the Norwegian Continental Shelf is currently supplied to Europe.

Vår Energi’s Chief Operating Officer, Torger Rød, commented: “We are pleased to see Johan Castberg producing at stable plateau levels, after a safe and successful start-up by Equinor in March this year. For Vår Energi, this is an important milestone towards delivering on the Company’s growth target of producing more than 400 kboepd in the fourth quarter of this year, while further strengthening our position as a leading player in the Barents Sea.”

The project supports Equinor’s plans to explore new targets around Johan Castberg and Goliat, using two rigs for both production and exploration drilling, enhancing energy supply reliability in the region.