Expanded deployment strengthens leak detection and production surveillance across North Sea subsea infrastructure

SLB has been awarded a contract by Equinor to expand real-time leak detection, virtual flow metering and digital production monitoring capabilities for the Johan Sverdrup Phase 3 development in the North Sea offshore Norway. The award extends monitoring coverage across new subsea infrastructure in one of the world’s largest offshore oil fields.

As offshore production systems become larger and more interconnected, operators are increasingly investing in digital technologies that improve operational visibility, strengthen reliability and support asset integrity across complex subsea networks. Located on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, Johan Sverdrup is one of Equinor’s most strategically significant producing assets.

The Phase 3 award builds on the successful deployment of the Olga Online™ production management system during the field’s Phase 2 development, where it supported leak detection and real-time production surveillance across the production network. It extends the companies’ long-standing collaboration on Johan Sverdrup as the production network expands to include new subsea templates and multiphase flowlines associated with the Phase 3 development.

The Olga Online system combines first-principles multiphase flow modeling with real-time analytics to support early leak detection, virtual flow metering and continuous production surveillance in technically demanding offshore environments. The Phase 3 deployment will provide Equinor with expanded real-time visibility across wells, pipelines and subsea infrastructure, including insight into potential leak size, location and severity across the production network, helping strengthen operational reliability, support safe operations and optimize production performance throughout the production life of the field.

The system will be implemented ahead of production from the new Phase 3 facilities, with SLB supporting delivery, commissioning and long-term operation. The deployment reflects the growing role of digital production technologies in helping operators improve recovery and manage long-life offshore assets more efficiently, particularly in mature offshore basins.