Norway Re-Starts Production at Once Marginal Eirin Field, Showing That Commodity Prices Determine Value: However, There is Environmentalist Opposition to Re-Opening Old Fields

  

     Norway’s state oil & gas giant Equinor has recently restarted natural gas production at its Eirin Field. Once considered to be marginal and uneconomic in times of low energy prices, at present, with high natural gas prices in Europe, it is now profitable as long as prices remain high. The recoverable reserves at the Eirin Field are estimated at 27.6 million barrels of oil equivalent, not a large amount, but producible now. Eirin will extend production from the Gina Krog platform by seven years, from 2029 to 2036. The field is mostly gas with some liquids.

     According to Linda Kåda Høiland, senior vice president for late-life fields in Equinor:

"The project has given us important learnings on how to develop marginal discoveries quickly and profitably. Such subsea developments will be important for maintaining production and value creation from the Norwegian shelf in the future. Early collaboration, efficient decision-making processes and standardized solutions have been crucial to realizing Eirin in a short time. From the establishment of the project to the start of production, we have only spent three years," says Høiland.

     As noted below, the field was discovered in 1978 and then shelved. It was reactivated in 2023 after gas became a stronger need due to the discontinuation of planned EU imports of Russian pipelined gas. FID was made the same year.  

     The oilprice.com article by Jan-Thore Bergsagel notes that Eorin is emblematic of how geopolitics can reinvigorate resources once considered stranded due to low product pricing.

     The Gina Krog platform, through which Eirin production will be processed, is powered by electricity from shore, which makes its emissions much lower than those of other platforms.

“The bottom line: Eirin will not reshape global gas markets on its own, but it captures today’s energy reality perfectly—speed matters, infrastructure beats ideology, and Norway keeps quietly doing what Europe still needs most: delivering gas when it counts.”

     The success and speed of reviving the Eirin field likely influenced new plans to revive other old oil & gas fields in Norway’s North Sea fields. 

     In response to the current geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, the Norwegian government has given its approval for oil and gas companies to explore in 70 new locations in the North Sea, Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea.

     The Guardian reports:

“The Albuskjell, Vest Ekofisk and Tommeliten Gamma gasfields in the North Sea were closed in 1998. The government plans to spend 19bn kroner (£1.5bn) on restarting them by the end of 2028 with production to continue until 2048.”

     Meanwhile, environmentalists and those on the political left have predictably slammed the plans to reopen old fields:

“The deputy leader and environment spokesperson for the Socialist Left party, Lars Haltbrekken, said the decision was madness and accused the government of greenwashing.”

“It shows that the government is once again blatantly ignoring environmental advice from its own experts,” he said. “All the talk about responsible oil extraction is nothing but nonsense. It’s greenwashing through and through, with vulnerable and important natural areas being put at risk with full awareness.”

     I have written previously about the debates to approve and resume exploration and development at the UK North Sea Roseband and Jackdaw fields, arguing that they should be developed. Equinor is a part of those projects as well.

     Below, the Guardian article notes that due to soaring natural gas and oil prices in Europe, old fields are becoming economic and oil & gas company profits, including Equinor’s, are up, so they can invest in revitalizing some of these fields as well as exploring for more.

“The company’s record fossil fuel production combined with surging market prices helped it to its highest quarterly profits since 2023, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a gas supply shock across Europe. Equinor expects the current disruption to last well beyond any end to hostilities.”

“Norway’s energy minister, Terje Aasland, said: “Norwegian production of oil and gas is an important contribution to energy security in Europe. Development of new gasfields helps Norway maintain high deliveries in the long term.”

“This has become more important after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.”

  

 

 

References:

 

Norway just switched on another gas lifeline for Europe. Jan-Thore Bergsagel. OilPrice.com. May 5, 2026. Norway just switched on another gas lifeline for Europe

Norwegian government attacked over decision to reopen North Sea gasfields. Miranda Bryant and Jillian Ambrose. The Guardian. May 6, 2026. Norwegian government attacked over decision to reopen North Sea gasfields | Oil | The Guardian

The Eirin field in production - more gas to Europe. Equinor. May 5, 2026. The Eirin field in production - more gas to Europe - Equinor