Estimates for progress and costs at Norway’s Snøhvit Future project have been revised, with the gas project delayed and projected costs rising by around $390 million (NOK 4 billion) compared with 2024.
The Snøhvit Future project, which includes onshore compression and electrification of the Hammerfest LNG facility at Melkøya, is now expected to start onshore compression in 2029, one year later than originally planned.
Total project costs are now estimated at more than $1.96 billion (NOK 20 billion) in 2025 terms, up from an inflation-adjusted estimate of $1.44 billion (NOK 14.7 billion) when the plan for development and operation was submitted in 2022. The original cost estimate at the time was $1.3 billion (NOK 13.2 billion).
The project is owned by Equinor Energy with a 36.79% stake, Petoro with 30%, TotalEnergies EP Norge with 18.4%, Vår Energi with 12% and Harbour Energy Norge with 2.81%.
The project is about halfway completed, according to the owners. The revised timeline reflects execution challenges at an operating plant, an extended turnaround at Melkøya in 2025, temporary safety-related shutdowns and more complex integration work than initially planned.
“We underestimated the complexity of planning and executing the project under these circumstances,” said Trond Bokn, Equinor’s senior vice president for project development.
Additional factors cited for the higher costs include harsher-than-normal winter weather during 2024 - 2025, increased engineering requirements, rising equipment costs linked to high inflation and delays following the prolonged maintenance turnaround.
Snøhvit Future aims to maintain plateau production at Hammerfest LNG as reservoir pressure declines and to electrify the facility, cutting annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 850,000 tonnes, equivalent to roughly 2% of Norway’s annual emissions.
During the development phase, around 70% of value creation is expected to go to Norwegian companies, with more than one-third allocated to Northern Norway.