Equinor has stopped its production at the Visund oil platform in the North Sea, Norway. This action was taken following a fire in the electrical control room of the platform, which removed the gas field's export capacity of 13.2 million cubic meters per day from the market.
Incident Details
The fire started around 11 AM local time. Equinor spokesperson, Ellen Maria Skjelsbæk, reported that teams initially reported smoke and then observed flames in the electrical control room. This room is responsible for controlling and distributing electricity at the Visund platform. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, and Equinor immediately reported the incident to the relevant authorities.
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Impact on Workers and Production
Equinor has transferred between 70 and 80 of the 128 workers present at the Visund platform to nearby facilities. The company spokesperson stated that necessary repairs will be required, and it is still unclear when production can be resumed. An announcement made by the Norwegian gas system operator, Gassco, reduced the available capacity of Visund from 2.5 million cubic meters per day to zero for Thursday. The duration of the production halt has been announced as indefinite.
Gassco also reported three other unexpected shutdowns in Norway. The Åsgard field faced a reduction of 7.2 million cubic meters per day until Friday morning. The Oseberg field also saw a decrease of 9.6 million cubic meters on Wednesday and is expected to be absent by 5.3 million cubic meters on Thursday. The Troll field experienced a reduction of 5.6 million cubic meters on Wednesday.
The gas export chart for Norway recorded 324.8 million cubic meters by 5:03 PM CET on Wednesday. The Visund platform, which has been in production since 1999, primarily produces gas and has delivered 5.1 billion cubic meters of gas to the market in 2025. The gas produced from this field is transported via the Kvitebjørn pipeline to the Kollsnes processing facility and then to Europe.
Equinor, with a 53.2% ownership, operates this field, with other shareholders including Petoro at 30%, ConocoPhillips at 9.1%, and Repsol at 7.7%. Gas prices in Europe decreased by 2% on Wednesday, and analysts are paying attention to subsequent developments in Washington regarding Iran. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that the global gas shortage may continue until 2027.
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