Norway’s Ministry of Energy has approved plans to revive three dormant gas fields in the southern North Sea—Albuskjell, Vest Ekofisk, and Tommeliten Gamma—with production expected to resume in 2028.The fields are situated in the Ekofisk area, near the giant Ekofisk reserve.Approximately 19 billion Norwegian kroner (~£1.4 billion/$2.05 billion) will be invested to reactivate the fields using existing infrastructure to keep costs low.The reactivation programme is led by ConocoPhillips Skandinavia.The fields hold between 90 and 120 million barrels of oil equivalent, including roughly 19 billion cubic metres of gas. This is enough to power approximately three million UK homes.Once reopened, the fields are projected to remain active for roughly 20 years, until 2048.
May 2026, marks the first time in nearly 30 years that mothballed offshore fields in this region have been reopened. It is part of Norway’s broader effort to bolster European energy security following supply disruptions from the Middle East and Russia.Parallel to these reopenings, Norway has also offered 70 new offshore exploration blocks across the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, and Barents Sea to ensure long-term production levels.
Note by Alessandro Bazzoni