OSLO (Reuters) -Germany's Wintershall Dea and its partners Petoro and Sval Energi will invest around 8 billion Norwegian crowns ($803.6 million) to develop the Dvalin North gas field in the Norwegian Sea, the companies and Norway's energy ministry said on Tuesday.
The discovery in the Haltenbanken area was the largest find on the Norwegian continental shelf in 2021, estimated to contain 84 million barrels of oil equivalents, most of it natural gas, the ministry said.
The partners expect startup of Dvalin North, which will be developed as a tie-back to the Heidrun platform via the existing Dvalin field, at the end of 2026, it added.
"The project will make an important contribution to value creation and employment, as well as providing much sought-after gas to Europe when the field comes into production," Minister of Energy and Petroleum Terje Aasland said in a statement.
"Committing to a development only the year after discovery is very rare, but shows our determination to supply natural gas to Europe through a major investment in Norway," said Dawn Summers, Wintershall Dea's chief operating officer.
Wintershall Dea holds a 55% share in the Dvalin North licence, with Petoro owning 35% and Sval Energi the remaining 10%.
($1 = 9.9556 Norwegian crowns)