(Adds background, detail)
OSLO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Norway on Friday began to pump
natural gas from the third stage of its offshore Troll field,
operator Equinor said on Monday.
"Troll phase 3 is one of the most profitable projects
throughout Equinor's entire history, while at the same time
featuring production with record-low CO2 emissions," the company
said in a statement.
Norway is western Europe's biggest producer of oil and
natural gas. Troll is its largest gas field, supplying around 8%
of the European Union's annual consumption.
The field came on stream in 1995, and the third phase will
extend its production lifetime beyond 2050, Equinor said.
Recoverable volumes from Troll phase 3, which will produce
the Troll West gas cap, are estimated at 347 billion cubic
metres of gas, or around 2.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent,
the company said.
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)