Fact box – Dilemma

gas injection to improve oil recovery – or accelerating the gas?
Gas has been injected in many North Sea oil fields to provide full pressure support, either in the whole field or in some segments. That has contributed to a substantial increase in oil production. Once the profitable oil has been recovered, gas injection ceases and oil production declines before eventually halting. If infrastructure is available, the gas can be exported and thereby contribute to increased value creation. A transition to gas export alone is being planned on Troll, Oseberg, Skarv and other fields with gas infrastructure.

Some fields require additional investment if injection gas is to be produced and exported. Johan Castberg and Ula are examples. The Ula licensees currently have no plans to export injected gas. Where Johan Castberg is concerned, a joint gas pipeline is under consideration from the planned Wisting field to Snøhvit. With high gas prices, the transition from gas injection to export could be accelerated.
During the winter of 2022, the government has given temporary permission to increase gas exports from some fields. These include Gina Krog [20], where Equinor has secured a temporary permit to halt injection in order to export the gas.