Equinor has submitted the development and operation plan of the $1.46 billion Irpa natural gas project in the Norwegian Sea to Terje Aasland, the Norwegian Minister of Oil and Energy. Irpa gas discovery in V ø ring basin was formerly called Asterix, with the goal of putting into production in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The gas discovery will be developed by drilling three wells and an 80 km pipeline to the Aasta Hansteen platform. According to Equinor, Irpa natural gas project will extend the life of Aasta Hansteen platform in V ø ring area from 2032 to 2039. The Norwegian oil and gas company said that by 2031, Irpa and Aasta Hansteen fields will be jointly produced. The Aasta Hansteen gas field has been in production since 2018.

Geir Tungesvik, executive vice president of drilling and procurement for the Equinor project, said that the development of Irpa would help to provide predictable and long-term natural gas to customers in the EU and the UK. The discovery of deep-water Irpa gas was confirmed in 2009.

It is located 340 km west of Bod ø, and the estimated recoverable natural gas resource is about 20 billion standard cubic meters. This is equivalent to 124 million barrels of oil equivalent or about 2.4 million British households' natural gas consumption in seven years.

The natural gas extracted from Irpa oilfield will gradually enter the existing infrastructure on the Aasta Hansteen crystal platform. It will then be transported to the Nyhamna gas processing plant via the Polarled pipeline and then to customers in the UK and continental Europe via the Langeled pipeline system. Equinor Energy is the operator of Irpa Oilfield and owns 51% shares. Other partners of offshore gas fields are Wintershall DEA (19%), Petoro (20%) and Shell (10%).

Hogne Pedersen, Irpa project director, said that developing Irpa has always been challenging. The deep-water and undersea low temperature make the qualification certification of pipeline innovation new technology a necessary condition, but the good support of the partnership and the increased demand for natural gas make the investment decision possible.Editor/Xing Wentao