SLB has entered into a multi-year agreement with Equinor to deliver advanced reservoir stimulation services across the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
The agreement includes the comprehensive upgrade of well stimulation vessel the MV Island Captain, which will be dedicated to supporting the development of tight offshore reservoirs in Norway.
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As part of the agreement, the Island Captain will be converted to become fully proppant-capable.
Planned enhancements include expanding proppant storage, upgrading handling and blending systems, increasing pumping capacity and redesigning the deck to support complex stimulation activities.
Following these modifications, the vessel is expected to transport up to two million pounds of proppant, supporting high-intensity offshore treatments on the NCS.
Tight reservoirs are expected to be a significant factor in future offshore resource development.
According to the agreement details, delivering reliable and effective stimulation treatments requires specialised systems, which the vessel upgrade aims to address.
The Island Captain, registered under Norway’s flag, has a length of 94.75m and a width of 20m.
SLB Scandinavia managing director Ole Christian Meldahl said: “This agreement builds on a long-standing relationship between Equinor and SLB.
“The upgrade of the Island Captain represents an important investment in offshore stimulation capability for the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
“Together, this dedicated capacity and specialised equipment will help support future reservoir developments across the region.”
In May 2026, SLB and Vår Energi expanded their collaboration aimed at improving well and field development planning on the NCS.
As part of the expanded partnership, Vår Energi will apply SLB’s Delfi digital platform to bring together different elements of exploration and production activities.
The Delfi system is designed as a cloud-based environment, allowing integration across exploration, subsurface analysis, well design, subsea engineering and production operations.
