BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 15. Equinor and its partners will complete the Troll West Electrification (TWEL) project in the North Sea without installing the second electric export compressor on the Troll C platform, revising the original plan approved in 2021, the company said.
The decision follows a reassessment of the project’s impact on emissions, gas deliveries and value creation. The partnership has informed Norway’s Ministry of Energy that the project will be completed after the first electric export compressor on Troll C is commissioned.
Partial electrification of the Troll B and Troll C platforms in 2024 has already reduced emissions from the Troll area by around 330,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually. This represents approximately 75% of the 440,000 tonnes of annual emission reductions originally envisaged under the project, making TWEL one of the largest emissions-reduction initiatives on the Norwegian continental shelf.
“TWEL has delivered significant emission reductions from the Troll area. At the same time, we have undertaken a new overall assessment of the remaining part of the project. We believe this is the best solution when balancing emission reductions, energy deliveries and value creation,” said Trond Bokn, Equinor’s senior vice president for project development.
The partnership’s decision reflects changes in operating conditions since the project was approved in 2021. At the time, a temporary reduction in Troll C’s capacity could have been offset by higher production from Troll A. However, the Troll field has been operating at maximum capacity throughout the year since 2023, increasing the importance of maintaining available compressor capacity on Troll C.
Installing the second electric export compressor would require extensive modifications, reducing production from Troll C for up to 21 months. The compressor would also be needed only until gas demand is expected to cease in the mid-2030s, whereas Troll C is expected to remain operational until around 2050. Following an assessment of the trade-offs, the partnership concluded that completing the project without the additional compressor would be the most appropriate option.
The decision is expected to help maintain high and stable gas deliveries to Europe, with approximately 2.3 billion standard cubic metres of additional gas becoming available to the European market in 2027 and 2028. This volume is equivalent to around two years of gas consumption for one million European households.
“Troll will remain a cornerstone of Europe’s energy supply for many years to come. High regularity and stable production are important for energy security, value creation and the continued development of the Troll area. The TWEL decision must be seen in that broader context,” said Frode Skarstein, Equinor’s senior vice president for exploration and production west.
Troll’s role in Norwegian energy production
Located in the northern North Sea, approximately 65 kilometres west of Kollsnes near Bergen, Troll is Norway’s largest gas field and one of the largest oil fields on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Its reservoirs contain about 40% of the NCS’s total gas reserves, making the field a cornerstone of Norway’s gas production and exports to Europe.
The field comprises the Troll East and Troll West structures and is developed through the Troll A, Troll B and Troll C platforms. Troll is also a major oil-producing asset: oil output exceeded 400,000 barrels per day in 2002.
Troll A became the first platform on the Norwegian continental shelf to receive electricity from shore when it began operating on power supplied from land in 1996. Troll B and Troll C were partially electrified in 2024. The electrification measures have brought emissions from the Troll area down to approximately the same level as in 1999.
Following completion of TWEL, Troll B will operate with one electrified and two gas-driven export compressors, while Troll C will have two electric and one gas-driven export compressor. The lower power demand on Troll C will also free up approximately 26 megawatts of reserved capacity at Kollsnes for other uses.
Equinor operates the Troll A, B and C platforms and the associated landfall pipelines. Gassco operates the gas processing plant at Kollsnes on behalf of Gassled, with Equinor serving as the technical service provider for its operations.
The Troll licence partnership comprises Petoro AS, with a 55.92838% stake; Equinor Energy AS, the operator, with 30.55480%; A/S Norske Shell, with 8.18531%; TotalEnergies EP Norge AS, with 3.69096%; and ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS, with 1.64055%.