On the sea surface of the North Sea in Norway, the Island Captain oil well production ship, which has been in service for more than ten years, is docked in the shipyard of Stavanger Port, waiting for the largest renovation and upgrade since its operation. The multi-year service agreement signed between SLB and Equinor will transform this old ship into a core operational platform for the development of tight oil reservoirs on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Old ship renovation releases new production capacity

This upgrade will transform this vessel, built in 2012, into a specialized production vessel with complete proppant operation capabilities. The renovation includes expanding the storage capacity of proppants, equipping advanced processing and mixing systems, comprehensively improving pumping capacity, and optimizing deck layout to adapt to complex production operations. After the upgrade is completed, the ship will be able to carry a total of 2 million pounds of proppant per trip, fully meeting the needs of high-intensity offshore production operations on the Norwegian continental shelf.

In the first half of 2026, the newly discovered reserves of tight oil reservoirs on the Norwegian continental shelf increased by 18% year-on-year. The recovery rate of traditional conventional oil fields is approaching the upper limit of development, and tight oil reservoirs are becoming the core incremental source of stable regional oil and gas production. Previously, there was a lack of specialized ships in the Norwegian waters that could undertake high displacement production operations, and the renovation of old ships precisely filled this critical equipment gap.

Special capabilities support long-term development

The efficient development of tight oil reservoirs highly relies on a stable and reliable high-intensity offshore stimulation system. In the past, the production increase operations in Norwegian waters often required temporary deployment of cross regional vessels, which not only resulted in high operating costs, but also easily slowed down the development pace due to the influence of sea conditions. The dedicated transportation capacity locked in this agreement will provide stable equipment support for Equinor's development of tight oil reservoirs on the Norwegian continental shelf, directly helping to improve the recovery rate of regional oil wells.

The general manager of SLB Nordic region stated that this upgrade is an important investment in increasing offshore production on the Norwegian continental shelf in recent years. In 2026, the average single well production efficiency of the Norwegian offshore oil and gas industry is expected to increase by 22% year-on-year. After the use of dedicated vessels, the overall recovery rate of regional tight oil reservoirs is expected to increase by more than 10 percentage points, further extending the stable production cycle of oil and gas fields on the Norwegian continental shelf. Keywords: offshore oil and gas development, oil wells

The upgrade and renovation of an old ship is a microcosm of the industry transformation of North Sea oil and gas development towards deep and tight resources. In the context of global energy transition, this path of resource efficient development through upgrading existing equipment not only ensures the stability of regional energy supply, but also explores feasible solutions with high cost-effectiveness for low-carbon and efficient development in the traditional oil and gas industry.Editor/Cheng Liting