Troll is Norway's largest gas field, located in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea approximately 80 kilometres west of Bergen. Operated by Equinor on behalf of the Troll licence partners, it consists of the Troll A, Troll B and Troll c platforms. Troll A is a concrete gravity-based structure and the world's tallest man-made moveable object; it processes and routes gas to the Kollsnes terminal via the Troll pipeline. The field supplies roughly 30% of Norwegian gas production, making it one of Europe's single largest gas supply points.

Troll came onstream in 1996 and is designed for a production life extending into the 2050s. Gas flows to Kollsnes for processing before Onward export via the Franpipe (to Dunkerque, France) and the FLAGS pipeline (to St Fergus, Scotland). The field also produces oil from Troll B and c. Equinor holds the largest licence share; other partners include TotalEnergies, Shell and state holding companies.

In May-June 2026, a compressor failure on Troll A discovered during a routine annual test on 21 May cut send-out by 34.6 MCM/day from 26-30 May and a further 16.2 MCM/day on 30-31 May, leaving more than 50 MCM/day of Norwegian supply offline when combined with the concurrent Hammerfest LNG outage. Equinor extended the outage to 31 May with no confirmed restart notice; as of 4 June, no restart UMM had been filed and TTF broke above its 38-session EUR 46-47/MWh range to EUR 48.9/MWh, re-testing the EUR 50 ceiling. The compressor repair date became the primary asymmetric trade hinge on the TTF curve through late May and early June, confirming that Troll's dominance in Norwegian output means any restart slip carries outsized European market consequences.

Common Questions

What is the Troll gas field and where is it located?

Troll is Norway's largest gas field, operated by Equinor in the North Sea roughly 80 km west of Bergen. It accounts for about 30% of Norwegian gas production and is connected to the Kollsnes processing terminal via a dedicated pipeline. Gas is then exported to France via Franpipe and to the UK via the FLAGS pipeline.Source: Equinor / Norwegian Offshore Directorate

What happened to the Troll A platform in May 2026?

A compressor failure on Troll A, discovered during a routine annual test on 21 May 2026, cut the field's gas send-out by 34.6 MCM/day from 26-30 May and a further 16.2 MCM/day on 30-31 May. Combined with Hammerfest LNG being offline, over 50 MCM/day of Norwegian supply was removed from the market. Equinor had not filed a restart UMM as of early June.Source: european-energy-markets briefing

How does the Troll field gas reach European consumers?

Gas from Troll flows via subsea pipeline to the Kollsnes onshore terminal near Bergen, where it is processed, dried and compressed. It is then exported via Franpipe to Dunkerque, France, and via the FLAGS pipeline to St Fergus, Scotland, for Onward distribution across the European grid.Source: Equinor / Gas Infrastructure Europe

Why does a Troll outage affect European gas prices?

Troll supplies roughly 30% of Norwegian gas production, and Norway as a whole covers around 25% of EU gas demand. An unplanned Troll outage immediately removes a significant share of continental supply, moving TTF pricing and storage injection economics across Europe.Source: european-energy-markets

Why did TTF prices rise when Troll A had a compressor fault in 2026?

Troll supplies roughly 30% of Norwegian gas output, which itself is Europe's largest single supply source. When Troll A's compressor failed in May 2026, the 34.6 MCM/day reduction in send-out — coinciding with Hammerfest LNG also being offline — removed more than 50 MCM/day from a market already dependent on state-mandate injection to meet the EU's 80% winter storage target. TTF broke above its multi-week range to EUR 48.9/MWh in early June when Equinor issued no restart notice after the 31 May extension.Source: european-energy-markets briefing

Source Material

Troll gas field — Wikipedia Troll — Equinor Official Page

How the World Sees Them

Norway

Troll is a cornerstone of Norway's gas export revenue and the primary vehicle for fulfilling long-term supply contracts to European customers; Equinor's operational decisions on Troll have national economic and diplomatic weight.

Gas traders

The May 2026 outage established the Troll A repair date as a market-moving event; the restart slip risk became the primary asymmetric position in TTF curve trading through end-May 2026.

Europe (importers)

Troll's 30% share of Norwegian gas output means any unplanned outage is an immediate supply security event; the May 2026 compressor failure simultaneously with Hammerfest downtime exposed the concentration risk in Norwegian infrastructure.