Equinor taps Island for multi-year well plugging

According to Equinor’s plans, Island Innovator will permanently plug 15 to 20 subsea wells annually for nine licences.

Island Innovator will plug subsea wells linked to two floating production platforms, including one tension-leg platform (TLP) and a semi-submersible on the Snorre field in the North Sea, and to the Heidrun TLP and Norne floating production storage and offloading vessel, among others.

Archer Oiltools and Baker Hughes Norge have framework agreements to deliver plugging services for three years, and with two two-year options. Archer Oiltools has also been assigned responsibility for planning plugging operations for 26 wells to be plugged from Island Innovator, in addition to options to perform the work.

Mr Kirkemo said Equinor also intends to drill 600 improved oil recovery wells and about 250 exploration wells, using various offshore drilling rigs, to maintain its hydrocarbon production on the NCS towards 2035.

Decommissioning and well plugging

Equinor is currently the operator of more than 1,400 production and injection wells on the NCS. Up to 2030, the plan is to permanently plug about 80 subsea wells using mobile rigs and 90 platform wells. In addition, an average of around 45 wells are plugged annually for reuse. From 2035 to 2045, a larger wave of permanent plugging is expected.

Equinor and its partners aim to ensure optimal resource exploitation and a productive life from each individual well. Continuous efforts are underway to extend the productive life of the fields on stream.

As far as possible, old wells are reused. This means part of the well is plugged before drilling to new targets from the existing wellhead, a process known as slot recovery. This saves drilling costs and increases production.

Equinor currently has four ongoing decommissioning projects as operator. At Veslefrikk and Heimdal fields, the wells have been plugged and production is shut down, and the installations will be removed from the field during 2025-2027.

On Oseberg East and Statfjord A (SFA) production shutdown is planned, and well plugging has started on SFA. On Oseberg East, similar operations start in 2026 and the contract award for the work is approaching. The SFA platform will be removed in a single lift using the world’s biggest heavy-lift vessel, with the heaviest lift ever performed.

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