Norwegian energy company Equinor and its partners have submitted a plan for development and operation for the Fram Sør subsea project in the North Sea. The project represents an investment of more than NOK21 billion ($2.08 billion).
The Fram Sør development will produce an estimated 116 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which 75 per cent is oil and 25 per cent is gas.
Production is scheduled to start at the end of 2029 and will be exported via the existing Troll C platform. Because Troll C is powered from shore, the project is expected to have "very low" production emissions, according to Equinor.
The project is based on the development of several discoveries made between 2019 and 2021, including Echino South and Blasto. It will be the first project on the Norwegian continental shelf to use all-electric subsea christmas trees, which eliminates the need for hydraulic fluid.
Kjetil Hove, Equinor executive vice president, stated that Fram Sør is one of over 50 such tie-back projects the company expects to bring on stream by 2035.