Norwegian energy giant Equinor and its partners will invest 14.8 billion kroner (€1.4 billion) to develop a new gas field in Norway to supply the UK and the European continent, Equinor announced on Tuesday.
Located in the deep waters (1,350 meters) of the Norwegian Sea, the Irpa field contains recoverable reserves estimated at about 20 billion cubic meters of gas, equivalent to seven years of consumption of nearly 2.4 million British homes, Equinor said in a statement.
The investment decision taken by the Norwegian giant, which holds 51% of the project, and its partners – the German Wintershall DEA (19%), the Norwegian state-owned group Petoro (20%) and the British Shell (10%) – should lead to the start of operations by the end of 2026.
The field is expected to operate until 2039.
In practice, the gas from the Irpa field (previously named Asterix) will be extracted by subsea installations connected via pipeline to an existing field, Aasta Hansen, whose life will thus be extended by seven years.
Norway has become Europe’s main supplier of natural gas after Russian deliveries were cut in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
