Record-breaking production

Julia Stangeland

On October 7, 1994, a production record was set at the Gullfaks field – in a year with several other records.

An orange vessel, a type of buoy loader (a tanker used to retrieve oil from a buoy on an oil field), is connected to the loading buoy at the Gullfaks field. The vessel is owned by Knutsen O.A.S. Apart from the vessel and the buoy, all that is visible is the sea. The photo is taken by Øyvind Hagen/Equinor.

— In October 1994, both the Gullfaks field and the Norwegian shelf set production records. Photo: Øyvind Hagen/Equinor

On this October day, 605,965 barrels of oil were produced.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Equinor, «Gullfaks». https://www.equinor.com/no/energi/gullfaks Lasta ned 24. januar 2025. By October 1994, barely five years had passed since the last of the Gullfaks platforms, Gullfaks C, was brought into production, and it was the year when Gullfaks produced the most oil.

In June 1994, Gullfaks delivered its 1,000th oil cargo. The oil was transported to Mongstad and celebrated with cake onboard the ship Polytrader, which carried the 1,000th cargo from the field to shore.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Strilen, «Gullfaks-last nr. 1000 til Mongstad», 29. juni 1994, s. 10. Nasjonalbiblioteket.

A graph showing the average daily production per year from 1986/1987 to 2023. The graph gradually rises from the start of production to a peak in 1994. After that, it gradually declines towards 2005 before leveling off. The peak year of 1994 shows an average of about 520,000 barrels per day, while the peak (also marked in the graph) on October 7, 1994, is over 600,000 barrels. — 1994 was a record year for Gullfaks, with an additional peak on October 7. Source: Norwegian Offshore Directorate. Figure: Norwegian Petroleum Museum

It wasn’t just the Gullfaks field that set a production record in October 1994. The total production from Norwegian oil fields averaged 2.71 million barrels per day that month, setting a production record for the Norwegian continental shelf.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Saltnes, Oddvar. «Oppmuntrende oljehøst på norsk sokkel» i LO-aktuelt fri fagbevegelse. 1994 Vol. 89 Nr. 15. 1994, s. 40 og 41. Nasjonalbiblioteket.

1994 also stands out as a year particularly marked by accidents and poor safety, both on the Gullfaks field specifically and on the Norwegian shelf in general.

The Olympic flame visited Gullfaks The Flare Extinguished

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Published 5. February 2025 • Updated 15. December 2025