HOUSTON -- Regulatory News:

SLB (NYSE: SLB) has announced a contract award from Equinor for the front-end engineering design (FEED) of a 12-well, all-electric Subsea Production Systems (SPS) project in the Fram Sør field, offshore Norway. The project will fast-track wide-scale global adoption of electric subsea technology, setting new standards for increased operator control, subsea operational efficiency and reduced offshore emissions. As part of the agreement, future engineering, procurement and construction will be directly awarded to SLB OneSubsea conditional on a final investment decision.

This project is the first application to be implemented resulting from a joint industry project, which commenced in 2018 and involved close collaboration across major industry players to accelerate the development of breakthrough electrification technology through a standardized industry solution. Basing the design on an established standard enables efficient and economic scaling of subsea electrification for operators worldwide, bringing associated capex and opex benefits.

“Electrification is vital to the future of subsea operations in the energy transition,” said Mads Hjelmeland, chief executive officer of SLB OneSubsea. “This technology has effectively created the IoT for subsea trees, providing operators with improved control through live performance and condition monitoring. We are grateful for the collaboration with Equinor and the other joint-industry-partners over the past six years that has made this milestone possible.”

The Fram Sør solution will use SLB OneSubsea’s standard subsea tree design, upgraded with a fully electrified power, control and actuation system, while the elimination of high-pressure hydraulic systems will enable operators to go further and deeper, improving production and making even marginal fields more viable.