Equinor Delivers Verdande On Schedule with Major Supplier Ripple Effects Across Norway

The Norne FPSO in the Norwegian Sea
Photo: Gudmund Nymoen / ©Equinor

(IN BRIEF) Production has officially started at Equinor’s Verdande field in the Norwegian Sea, adding 36 million barrels of oil reserves to the Norne FPSO and extending field operations past 2030. Developed in less than three years after investment approval, Verdande represents another fast and cost-efficient subsea tieback utilizing existing infrastructure. With total investment of over NOK 6 billion, the project has generated extensive activity across Norway’s supplier network, involving TechnipFMC, Aibel, Subsea7, DeepOcean and multiple regional contractors. Verdande comprises the Cape Vulture and Alve Nord East discoveries and is operated by Equinor alongside partners Petoro, DNO Norge, Aker BP, Japex Norge and Orlen Upstream. Oil will be offloaded by shuttle tankers, and gas exported via Åsgard Transport to Kårstø. The development is the sixth subsea field linked to Norne, supporting long-term production, jobs and value creation in the region.

(PRESS RELEASE) STAVANGER, 5-Dec-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Equinor has begun production from the Verdande field in the Norwegian Sea, marking a new milestone in extending the operational life of the Norne FPSO beyond 2030. The subsea development holds an estimated 36 million barrels of recoverable oil and is tied back directly to Norne via pipeline infrastructure, demonstrating the industry’s increasing reliance on efficient tieback solutions to bring smaller discoveries online rapidly and cost-effectively.

Trond Bokn, Senior Vice President for Project Development at Equinor, praised the collaboration with partners and suppliers, noting that the project moved from investment decision to start-up in under three years. He emphasized that swift, resource-efficient developments like Verdande are vital to realising additional reserves from the Norwegian continental shelf using existing facilities. The Verdande investment totals just over NOK 6 billion and has supported significant economic activity within Norway’s supplier base.

The Norwegian continental shelf is evolving, with a growing share of new fields developed as subsea tiebacks. Grete B. Haaland, Senior Vice President for Exploration and Production North, highlighted that Verdande is the sixth subsea field connected to the Norne FPSO — following Andvare earlier this year — strengthening long-term value creation, production capacity, and employment. More than 900 full-time equivalents are currently linked to Norne operations.

Verdande consists primarily of oil with associated gas volumes and is based on the Cape Vulture (2017) and Alve Nord East (2020) discoveries. Development includes a three-well template tied back to Norne. The field sits around 7 km north of Norne and approximately 200 km from Sandnessjøen. Oil will be transported by shuttle tankers while gas will flow via Åsgard Transport to Kårstø.

The project has delivered broad supply-chain ripple effects, involving companies across Norway. Subsea equipment from TechnipFMC was engineered and built in Kongsberg, while templates and manifolds were supplied by Agility in Tønsberg, with anchors from Westcon Helgeland. Norne FPSO modifications were carried out by Aibel, supported by regional subcontractors, and pipeline installation and subsea work were led by Subsea7 and DeepOcean. Drilling was undertaken by the Transocean Encourage rig, with well services delivered by Halliburton.

Press contact:

Sissel Rinde
Vice president Media relations
Corporate affairs
sisr@equinor.com
+47 412 60 584

SOURCE: Equinor ASA