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Melkøya

Snøhvit, Melkøya and Hammerfest LNG

Snøhvit is a gas and condensate field northwest of Hammerfest in Northern Norway. It was the first field development in the Barents Sea, after its discovery in 1984. Production began in August 2007.

Hammerfest LNG an onshore plant on the island of Melkøya which receives and processes the natural gas from Snøhvit. The plant cools the gas to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) so that it can be shipped abroad.

Hammerfest LNG plant on Melkøya. Photo: Ole Jørgen Bratland, Equinor

The Snøhvit field

Snøhvit is a gas and condensate field located northwest of Hammerfest in Northern Norway. It was the first development in the southern Barents Sea and the first major development on the Norwegian continental shelf without any surface installations.

The well stream from the Snøhvit field is transported in a 143-kilometre pipeline for processing to liquid natural gas (LNG) at the Melkøya onshore facility near Hammerfest in Northern Norway.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is separated and returned to the field by pipeline for injection into the aquifer (CCS), while LNG, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and condensates are shipped to market.

The Snøhvit field has been developed in phases to maintain full production at Hammerfest LNG. Askeladd, which was discovered in 1981, is now connected to the Snøhvit field and started the production in December 2022. In September 2025, production started from Askeladd Vest. The gas from Askeladd Vest travels through a total of 195 kilometers pipeline before reaching land.

A total of 18 wells have been drilled on the Snøhvit field, 16 producers and two wells for reinjecting carbon dioxide (CO2).

The plant on Melkøya captures CO2  from the well stream, before returning it to the field far below the seabed. 750,000 tonnes of CO2 are captured and stored each year, equivalent to the emissions from 400,000 cars.

Map of the Snøhvit field showing Hammerfest in Northern Norway
Map of the Snøhvit field showing Hammerfest in Northern Norway
Hammerfest LNG at Melkøya

The Snøhvit Future project

Snøhvit Future strengthens Norway’s position as a reliable and long-term supplier of gas produced with very low greenhouse gas emissions. The project secures jobs in Hammerfest and energy supplies to Europe beyond 2050.

In line with the authorities’ approval, we plan to introduce onshore compression to ensure the flow of gas to the facility from 2029, and electrification from 2030.

Snøhvit Future

Facts about Hammerfest LNG

Hammerfest LNG commenced production in 2007. About 700 people work at the plant, including apprentices and contractors. Including spin-off effects, Hammerfest LNG employs a total of about 1450 people in North Norway.

85 per cent of the revenues from Melkøya go to the Treasury through taxes and direct ownership (Petoro). In addition, there is the government's dividend on Equinor shares.

Every year, Hammerfest LNG contributes NOK 170 million in property tax to Hammerfest municipality. Snøhvit Future extends these revenues for the municipality beyond 2030 – in addition to increasing them by about 30 percent.

Every day, Hammerfest LNG contributes to 6.5 million households having light and heat in their homes, and production from Melkøya corresponds to 5 per cent of Norway's total exports. LNG ships call at Melkøya every 5 days.

During normal production, Hammerfest LNG delivers 6.5 billion standard cubic metres of LNG per year. In addition, there are LPG and condensate products.

Hammerfest LNG is Norway's and Europe's first production facility for cooled liquefied natural gas (LNG). The three fields Snøhvit, Askeladd and Albatross are located approx. 143 km from Hammerfest and have been developed with a subsea solution where no installations are visible on the sea surface. In September 2025, Askeladd Vest was also put into production. The reservoir is located 195 km from Hammerfest and is connected to the pipeline from the Søhvit field.

Snøhvit was the first development in the southern Barents Sea and was the first major development on the Norwegian continental shelf without surface installations.

The well stream is transported in a 143-kilometre pipeline for processing into liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the onshore facility on Melkøya near Hammerfest. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is separated and returned to the field by pipeline for injection into the aquifer (CCS), while LNG, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and condensates are shipped to the market.

Gas from the Snøhvit and Albatross reservoirs came on stream in 2007, while Askeladd came on stream in December 2022, and Askeladd Vest in September 2025, extending plateau production until Snøhvit Future starts up.

Location: Blocks 7120 og 7121 in the Barents Sea
Production date: 21 August 2007
Production: Gas