The apparent decision by pre-development operator Statoil and its partners to opt for a power-from-shore solution for Johan Sverdrup that excludes a more costly full-scale electrification of fields in the wider Utsira High area – first reported by Upstream last December– has fanned the flames of a heated parliamentary debate in recent weeks.
A majority in the parliament, backed by environmental groups, wants to see an electrical power cable supplying renewable energy from shore to run both Johan Sverdrup and the nearby Edvard Grieg, Ivar Aasen and Gina Krog fields in line with a government requirement to curb carbon dioxide emissions from traditional gas turbines mounted on platforms.
However,
