"The first six months of the year have seen good, stable production from existing fields in the SDFI portfolio, and new important volumes have been added through the start-up of two new fields in our licences. The demand for Norwegian gas is still strong in the European market, with a gas price that ended somewhat higher compared with the same period last year," says Petoro CEO Kristin F. Kragseth.
New fields on stream
Production started in March on the two Equinor-operated fields Johan Castberg and Halten Øst, where Petoro is a partner. Halten Øst is tied back to the Åsgard area in the Norwegian Sea, and produces gas and condensate for export to Europe. The Johan Castberg field came on stream on 31 March this year and has already reached plateau production. A new discovery in the Tubåen Formation will provide additional reserves for the field.
"Johan Castberg, with its surrounding areas, illustrates the opportunities on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS), even in a mature phase," Kragseth says.
In early July, the Johan Sverdrup licence decided to invest NOK 13 billion in the third phase of one of the world's most carbon-efficient oil fields. New infrastructure on the seabed will improve recovery by 40-50 million barrels of oil equivalent.
"This project is one of the first to use artificial intelligence in the field development, a method that has helped reduce costs and risk in the project. It's very inspiring to see the digital focus yet again creating substantial values in new areas. This is how we'll ensure that we maintain the competitiveness of the NCS," Kragseth says.
The expected recovery rate from Johan Sverdrup is already world-class, at 66 per cent. The Phase 3 project is an important step towards achieving the ambition of 75 per cent.
Resource utilisation
Norwegian gas is transported to Europe through an 8800-kilometre network of pipelines. In recent years, following the substantial reduction in gas supplies from Russia, Norway has been Europe’s largest supplier of gas, and has stabilised continental Europe's energy supply in a time of significant uncertainty.
"Norway has become the symbol of guaranteed deliveries of stable and competitive gas to Europe. In order to maintain this position, we as an industry need to work even smarter together to make the best possible use of our remaining resources. This will require continued good operations on existing fields and infrastructure, increased exploration activity, and the development of new and profitable production with low greenhouse gas emissions," Kragseth says.
One good example of this is the Shell-operated Ormen Lange field, which started up seabed compression in late June. Petoro is the largest partner in the licence.
"With new seabed compressors installed, the goal is to improve the gas recovery rate from 75 to 85 per cent. This project is an excellent example of how the industry still works together to find good technological solutions to extend the lifetimes of mature fields," Kragseth says.
Result as of the 1st half of 2025
Seven serious incidents have been registered so far this year in the SDFI portfolio, which yields a serious incident frequency of 0.60 over the last 12 months. This is an increase from 0.53 in the same period last year. The personal injury frequency is 5.1, compared with 4.2 in the same period last year.
Net cash flow to the state from the SDFI as of the 1st quarter totalled NOK 139 billion. Total production amounted to 1,029 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboed), an increase of 44 kboed compared with the same period last year. Gas production amounted to 108 million standard cubic metres (mill. scm) per day, down six per cent compared with the first half of last year. The average realised gas price was NOK 5.42 per scm, compared with NOK 3.84 in the same period last year. Liquids production totalled 352 kboed, a reduction of 1 kboed compared with the first half of 2024. The average realised oil price was USD 71, compared with USD 85 per barrel in the same period last year.
Please refer to our interim report for additional information.
Press contact
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Ørjan Heradstveit
+47 917 78 161
