Statoil proposes new North Sea gas pipeline for Sverdrup field

OSLO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Statoil (Xetra: DNQA.DE - news) has proposed building a subsea pipeline twice as big as needed to take gas from Norway's giant new Johan Sverdrup oil and gas field to cater for future finds which could be tied into the new line, gas system operator Gassco said on Friday.

Statoil aims to build a 10-million cubic metre per day, 165-kilometre gas pipeline from the field, which will go into operation towards the end of the decade, taking gas to the onshore Kaarstoe processing plant near Stavanger.

Norway is Western Europe's biggest gas supplier and accounts for about a fifth of the European Union's gas imports.

"The new pipeline will have a larger capacity than Johan Sverdrup's own requirements, estimated at 3-5 million standard cubic metres per day in the early phase," Gassco said in a statement.

"The new line will also provide greater capacity than Johan Sverdrup needs, opening the way for other fields in the area to use it in the future," it added.

Sverdrup, the biggest North Sea find in decades, is estimated to hold up to 3.3 billion barrels of oil and its partners see peak production at 500,000 barrels per day.

Statoil is expected to present a development concept for the field later this year.