Plans submitted for Norway's Johan Sverdrup field

The Norwegian government said Friday it received development and operational plans for the Johan Sverdrup field, among the largest in national waters.

Plans were submitted to Norwegian Petroleum Minister Tord Lien and the National Petroleum Directorate, the nation's energy regulator. Johan Sverdrup is the fifth largest discovery ever made on the Norwegian continental shelf, described by the NPD as "gigantic."

Peak production is expected to be as high as 650,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Norwegian energy company Statoil, the field's operator, said Johan Sverdrup will account for 25 percent of the combined production from the Norwegian continental shelf once it's in full swing.

Though other parts of the regional sector are waning in the weak oil market, Statoil Chief Executive Officer Eldar Saetre said the offshore field will generate revenue for the Norwegian economy for several decades.

"The field's economy is robust also at current oil prices," he said in a statement.

Statoil and its field partners, Maersk Oil and Lundin Petroleum, outlined a preliminary development plan for the field in early 2014. The company estimates Johan Sverdrup should generate $200 billion in revenues over the next 50 years. Production is slated for 2019, a year later than originally planned.

Geologists at the NPD said recovery rates should be high.

"Its enormous size makes Johan Sverdrup an extremely important discovery," NPD geologist Fridtjof Riis said. "Opportunities to work on something this big are few and far between."