Oil Production Starts at Norwegian Field Amid Court Battle Over Its Approval

Norwegian oil and gas firm Aker BP on Tuesday announced the start of oil production from the Tyrving development, while the Norwegian government is testifying at an appeals court this week to overturn a lower court ruling that Norway failed to consider the environmental impact of the project when it approved it.

Early this year, the Oslo District Court ruled that the government’s approval of three new oil and gas fields, Breidablikk, Yggdrasil, and Tyrving, all in the North Sea, was invalid as it failed to take into account the emissions from burning the petroleum from these fields’ production.

The case was brought by Greenpeace Nordic and Natur og Ungdom (Young Friends of the Earth Norway). In January, the Oslo court agreed with the plaintiffs that Norway had violated the fundamental rights of Norwegian citizens by greenlighting the plans for the fields but failing to include Scope 3 emissions in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The Norwegian government appealed the ruling and is due to present its argument at the Borgarting Court of Appeal in hearings beginning on Wednesday.

Aker BP is not party to the lawsuit, but its chief executive Karl Johnny Hersvik is expected to testify in court for the government.

The company could suffer setbacks if the lower court ruling is upheld. An appeals court judgment, however, could be months or years away.

Meanwhile, Aker BP began oil production from the Tyrving development, which uses the planned extended lifetime for the Alvheim field in the area.

The Tyrving development consists of three wells and two new subsea installations which are tied back to existing infrastructure at East Kameleon and further to the Alvheim FPSO.

Recoverable resources in Tyrving are estimated at about 25 million barrels of oil equivalent. Aker BP says that the field will operate with “exceptionally low emissions”, estimated at just 0.3 kg of CO2 per barrel.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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