Polish energy company ORLEN announced on Friday (19 April) that it has connected the Sleipner field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to clean energy sources generated on shore.
The electrification of the Sleipner field is estimated to prevent 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
The electrification of the Sleipner field in the North Sea will enable the phase-out of two gas turbines that have so far provided the energy necessary for the operation of its installations, ORLEN noted in a press release.
Sleipner’s installations are used to process production from several fields in the Sleipner Area located in the central part of the North Sea.
Sleipner was electrified with a 28-kilometre long subsea power cable connected to the Gina Krog platform, which has been supplied with power from shore since 2023. Apart from Sleipner and Gina Krog, PGNiG Upstream Norway, a company of the ORLEN Group, is a license partner in two other fields powered from shore – Ormen Lange and Duva.
Total production from all ORLEN Group’s electrified fields is estimated to exceed 3.0 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas in 2024. This means that approximately 66 per cent of total gas production by PGNiG Upstream Norway will be carried out using facilities powered by almost zero-emission energy.
PGNiG Upstream Norway holds an approximate 25 per cent stake in Sleipner, which provides the company with access to more than 26 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mboe) remaining recoverable reserves. In 2024, PGNiG Upstream Norway expects to produce 3.4 Mboe of hydrocarbons from Sleipner.