The Balder Area comprises two main fields, Balder and Ringhorne Øst. Production from the area commenced in 1999, through the Balder field, which has been developed with subsea wells tied-back to the Balder production, storage and offloading vessel. The Ringhorne platform commenced production in 2003 and is connected to the Balder FPU which processes and stores oil ready for offload onto shuttle tankers.
These fields lie in the Central North Sea on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. They lie in a water depth of approximately 125 metres.
Balder, Norway
Status: In production
The Balder and Ringhorne oil fields comprise a series of sandstone deposits of Jurassic, Paleocene and Eocene age at a depth of approximately 1,700metres below sea level. The Balder field, which produces primarly from the Heimdal and Hermod formations, as well as from the injected sand complex above, commenced production in 1999 via the Balder FPU and is situated in 125metres water depth. The Ringhorne field produces from the Hugin, Ty and Hermod formations which are typically of excellent reservoir quality and situatied at depths of around 1,900metres below sea level. The Ringhorne field has been drilled from the Ringhorne platform, which is a dry wellhead platform that commenced production in 2003 and relies on the Balder FPU for power, additional processing, storage and offload of produced oil, gas and water.
Oil is processed and stored at the Balder FPU, where it is offloaded onto shuttle tankers. The field’s infrastructure currently primarily comprises subsea wells connected to the FPU.
Ringhorne Øst
Status: In production
Ringhorne Øst is a field in the central part of the North Sea, six kilometres northeast of the Balder field, from which production started in 2006. Ringhorne Øst produces oil with associated gas from Jurassic sandstone in the Statfjord Group. The reservoir is at a depth of 1,940 metres and has very good quality.
Ringhorne Øst was discovered in 2003, and the plan for development and operation was approved in 2005. The field is developed with four production wells drilled from the Ringhorne wellhead platform. Production is routed from the Ringhorne wellhead platform to the Balder FPSO vessel for processing, storage and export.
Balder Future
Status: In production
The Balder Future project was one of the largest projects executed on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The project involved the drilling of 14 new production wells plus one new water injector on the Balder field, alongside the refurbishment of the Jotun FPSO. This was integrated within the Balder area hub with a view to increasing processing and handling capacities across the Balder and Ringhorne Øst fields. First oil from the project was delivered in Q2 2025, with peak production of approximately 9,000 boepd (net) achieved soon after.
Balder Phases V and VI
Status: In development
Balder Phase V consists of a six-well drilling campaign utilising the remaining subsea template. The project will target over 3 mmboe (net) and is expected to come on stream during Q4 2025. Phase VI will target an additional 1.5 mmboe (net), consisting of a multi-lateral well tied back to the Jotun FPSO via the installation of a new subsea template and flowline. Start-up is anticipated by the end of 2026, with payback expected in less than one year.
Our interests
| Field or licence | Licence holder | Licence type | Status | Interest at 31 December 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PL001 | Kistos Energy (Norway) AS | Production | Non-operated | 10% |
| PL027[1] | Kistos Energy (Norway) AS | Production | Non-operated | 10%[2] |
| PL027C | Kistos Energy (Norway) AS | Production | Non-operated | 10% |
| PL027HS | Kistos Energy (Norway) AS | Production | Non-operated | 10% |
| PL028 | Kistos Energy (Norway) AS | Production | Non-operated | 10% |
| PL028S | Kistos Energy (Norway) AS | Production | Non-operated | 10% |
1 Licence PL027 comprises Balder and Ringhorne Øst fields.
2 Kistos’ share of the Ringhorne Øst unit is 7.4%.