What the shelf has left

Every oil and gas field has a volume it can still produce. Sodir, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, publishes today's estimate for each field and every month of production since 1971. Add the production back, month by month, and what each field had left at any point in its life can be drawn. Stack all 139 fields and the whole shelf takes one shape: a narrow base in the 1970s, a broad middle around 2000 and a narrowing top today.

Read the figure upwards. Time runs from the first oil at the bottom to today, with ten years of open space above.

The whole shelf

Gas and oil, side by side

Each thread is one field: gas in red and orange on the left, oil, NGL and condensate in green on the right, with the years between them; the full-screen view adds the main events. At its widest, early in 2000, the shelf had 5,171 million Sm³ o.e. left to produce, oil and gas together. Today 1,992 million Sm³ o.e. remain, 61% less. The oldest fields sit at the centre of each graph and younger ones outward; pale shades are small fields and strong shades giants.

1969–1979

The first field: Ekofisk

Ekofisk was found in 1969 and came on stream in June 1971. Until Frigg, Cod and Vest Ekofisk joined in 1977 it was the whole shelf: 708 million Sm³ o.e. recoverable by today's estimate, and still among the largest fields on the shelf.

1979–1992

Statfjord, Gullfaks, Oseberg and Snorre came on stream between 1979 and 1992

Statfjord came on stream in 1979, Gullfaks and Oseberg in the late 1980s, Snorre in 1992. The 33 giants, fields of more than 500 million barrels of oil equivalent, hold 83% of everything ever booked on the shelf. The ten largest alone hold 55%.

1995

Troll turned the shelf towards gas

Troll was found in 1979 and began production in 1995. It added 1,778 million Sm³ o.e. to the shelf's total in a single month: 1,816 million Sm³ o.e. recoverable, the only super-giant on the shelf. In 1980 gas was 24% of what was left. It has outweighed oil, NGL and condensate together since the end of 2003, and today 57% of the remainder is gas.

The long tail

Most fields are below giant size

106 of the 139 fields are below giant size. Between them they hold 17% of the volume: the pale threads at the edges of each graph. Most are produced through an existing platform rather than one of their own.

2019

A giant in ground explored for four decades

Johan Sverdrup was found in 2010 on the Utsira High, in a part of the North Sea that had been explored for four decades. When it started in October 2019 it added 404 million Sm³ o.e. at once: the last big step outward in the shape so far.

Remaining reserves peaked in 2000 and have fallen by 61% since

Remaining recoverable volume per field, million Sm³ o.e., time running up

Source: Sodir FactPages and FactMaps, 2026-11-07
Units: million Sm³ o.e.; 1 Sm³ o.e. = 6.29 boe
Confidence: Derived
Note: Width = Sodir's estimate at 31.12.2025 plus production since each month (hindsight). Streams start at each field's production start and are smoothed over about a year for display; hover values are not smoothed.
Export: High-resolution image
Exception: direct-labels: Around 1,200 streams: shade encodes six size classes in two linked colour families per fluid, with a legend, hover and labels on the largest fields instead of direct labels on all. Width has no axis; the two graphs share one scale and the hover gives values.

See the figure full screen, with the main events marked, in the full-screen view.

Oil and gas added together

Add the two graphs and one shape remains: the total the shelf had left to produce, month by month. Each thread is coloured by the fluid that dominates the field. It is drawn narrower than the two graphs above add up to, so it can be read; the bar and the note in the figure give the scale.

Oil and gas together peaked in 2000 and have fallen by 61% since

Remaining recoverable volume per field, oil and gas added, million Sm³ o.e., time running up

Source: Sodir FactPages and FactMaps, 2026-11-07
Units: million Sm³ o.e.; 1 Sm³ o.e. = 6.29 boe
Confidence: Derived
Note: Width = Sodir's estimate at 31.12.2025 plus production since each month (hindsight). Streams start at each field's production start and are smoothed over about a year for display; hover values are not smoothed. Colour follows the larger of a field's recoverable gas and recoverable oil, NGL and condensate.
Export: High-resolution image
Exception: direct-labels: Around 1,200 streams: shade encodes six size classes in two linked colour families, with a legend, hover and labels on the largest fields instead of direct labels on all.

The shelf without its giants

Take out the 33 giants and 106 fields remain, each below 500 million barrels of oil equivalent recoverable. At the shelf's peak they held 289 million Sm³ o.e., 6% of what was left. Today they hold 444 million Sm³ o.e., 22%. The 22 large fields hold 50% of that and are left out of the figures below. These follow the 39 small and 45 medium fields: first together, then each on its own, on a scale stretched far enough to read.

Together they hold 222 million Sm³ o.e. today, 11% of the shelf: 43 million Sm³ o.e. in small fields and 179 million Sm³ o.e. in medium ones. On the scale of the total they would be slivers, so the figure stretches the scale. From 2000 to 2014 the volume left in small and medium fields together stayed between 81 million Sm³ o.e. and 151 million Sm³ o.e.. It then rose to 227 million Sm³ o.e. at the end of 2023 and has eased since. Medium fields held more than small ones in every year from 2000.

Small and medium fields held level to 2014, rose, and have eased since 2023

Remaining volume per field, million Sm³ o.e., small and medium together, small alone and medium alone, on a stretched scale

Source: Sodir FactPages and FactMaps, 2026-11-07
Units: million Sm³ o.e.; 1 Sm³ o.e. = 6.29 boe
Confidence: Derived
Note: Small is under 50 MMboe recoverable, medium 50 to 160; large fields (160 to 500) and giants are left out. The three graphs share one scale, larger than the total's (the note in the figure gives how many times; the bar gives a width). Width = Sodir's estimate at 31.12.2025 plus production since each month (hindsight). Fields approved but not yet producing enter at the approval date, at their full volume. Shades are stepped up two places in the size ramp so the two classes stay visible; the legend shows the shades used.
Export: High-resolution image
Exception: direct-labels: Around 85 streams: shade encodes two size classes in two linked colour families, with a legend, hover and labels where a stream is wide enough instead of direct labels on all. Width has no axis; the bar gives a width.

Adding as fast as producing

28 fields outside the giants started producing between 2005 and 2014, and 36 between 2015 and 2025. Volume tells a quieter story. In the first period they added 268 million Sm³ o.e. and produced 282 million Sm³ o.e.. In the second they added 666 million Sm³ o.e. against 504 million Sm³ o.e. produced, a surplus on paper. 169 million Sm³ o.e. of the additions sit in 7 fields approved in 2023 and 2024 and not yet producing, among them Munin and Hugin. The fields that had started added 497 million Sm³ o.e., close to what the whole group produced.

Additions outside the giants have only kept pace with what these fields produce

Cumulative from the end of 2004, million Sm³ o.e., added at the volume left when each field enters its stream

Source: Sodir FactPages and FactMaps, 2026-11-07
Units: million Sm³ o.e.
Confidence: Derived
Note: Added: the volume left in a field in the quarter it enters its stream (production start, or approval for fields not yet producing). Produced: added minus the change in what is left. Every volume is today's estimate, so reserve growth after start-up is credited at start-up, and earlier fields carry more of it.
Export: High-resolution image

Small and medium fields hold the line; they do not rebuild the shelf. Since its peak the giants have lost 3,312 million Sm³ o.e. and the fields outside them have gained 155 million Sm³ o.e., 5% of that fall. Most of the rise in their share of the shelf comes from the giants' decline, not from their own growth.

The 2004 tables understated what the fields held

Every width in the figure uses today's estimate. That is hindsight. At the end of 2004, Sodir's field tables put 3,918 million Sm³ o.e. left in the 64 fields then booked. Those same fields are now known to have held 5,292 million Sm³ o.e., 35% more, and every annual table from 2004 to 2024 booked less than its fields turned out to hold. The difference is reserve growth: better recovery, more wells and longer field lives. Existing fields kept adding reserves from the inside.

The same fields held 35% more than Sodir estimated in 2004

Remaining reserves at each year end, million Sm³ o.e., for the fields in that year's table

Source: Sodir FactPages and FactMaps, 2026-11-07
Units: million Sm³ o.e.
Confidence: Derived
Note: Estimated at the time: Sodir's field reserve table for that year. Known now: today's remaining plus production since, for the same fields. Field-level estimates before 2004 are not published in FactPages.
Export: High-resolution image

Most of the giants were found before 1990

Plot each field's size against the year it was found and the classic creaming curve appears. The giants cluster before 1990; most later discoveries are small. Johan Sverdrup, found in 2010, shows that a giant can still turn up in a mature basin.

Most giants were found before 1990; later finds are mostly small

Recoverable volume against discovery year, million Sm³ o.e., log scale

Source: Sodir FactPages and FactMaps, 2026-11-07
Confidence: Observed
Note: Fields only. Discoveries not yet developed are not shown, which flatters the recent decades less than it might.
Export: High-resolution image
Exception: direct-labels: 139 points: colour shows fluid and size class (legend), the largest fields are labelled and hover gives the rest.

The centre of gravity moves north

In 1995 almost all of what was left lay in the North Sea. Today 30% lies in the Norwegian and Barents Seas, up from 9% at the end of 1995.

Remaining reserves spread north as the North Sea giants drained

Remaining recoverable volume by Sodir quadrant at the end of each snapshot year

Source: Sodir FactPages and FactMaps; base map Relief (Copernicus DEM GLO-90, EMODnet Bathymetry), 2026-11-09
Confidence: Derived
Note: Fields assigned to the quadrant holding a point inside their outline. Dashed lines are agreed maritime boundaries.
Exception: north-up: Maps rotated so the shelf runs up each panel and the frame leaves out empty land to the east; a north arrow marks the turn.

How the shelf is wired

Sea, area, hub, field

Hubs and the fields that feed them

Group each field under the platform that produces it, and each platform under its area. 67 of the 139 fields are produced through another field's facilities, hosted by 26 hubs. Click a circle to zoom in.

1995

At the end of 1995 the North Sea giants were still full

Each circle now shows what that field had left at the end of 1995. The North Sea giants dominate; the Norwegian Sea is still filling.

2005

By 2005 the Norwegian Sea carries more of the weight

Ten years on, Statfjord, Gullfaks and Oseberg have shrunk, and Haltenbanken in the Norwegian Sea carries more of the weight. The Barents Sea has no producing field yet; Snøhvit starts in 2007.

Today

What is left is concentrated in two fields

Today the remainder is concentrated: Troll and Johan Sverdrup hold 36% of it. Around them, hubs keep producing through tie-backs.

A few large hubs carry clusters of small tie-backs

Sea, area, hub and field; circle area = recoverable volume, million Sm³ o.e.

Source: Sodir FactPages and FactMaps, 2026-11-07
Confidence: Interpreted
Note: Hubs read from Sodir's development descriptions (tied back, connected or processed at a named field's facility), chains resolved to the final host. Areas are the nearest named area in each sea, with a few overrides; see Basis of analysis.
Exception: direct-labels: Circle packing with four levels: larger circles are labelled, hover and zoom give the rest.

What has kept the shelf producing, and what it depends on

The top of the shape is narrowing. Production in the past twelve months would use up today's remaining reserves in about 8 years if nothing were added. That is a ratio, not a forecast: production declines as fields age, and reserves have grown before, as they did after 2004.

What has held the shelf up so far is specific: a handful of giants found early, reserve growth inside them, one late giant, and a long tail of smaller fields tied back to the platforms the giants built. A further 1,108 million Sm³ o.e. has been found and not yet sanctioned, equal to 51% of what the producing fields had left at the end of 2025. Contingent resources are not reserves, and some will not be developed. Whether the next ten years add another step outward depends on exploration, and on sanctioning what has already been found. Interpreted.

Appendix

Basis of analysis

Sources

Sodir FactPages and FactMaps, https://factpages.sodir.no, accessed 2026-11-07. Field reserves (versions 2004–2025), monthly production, field status, descriptions, discoveries; fields, quadrants, land and maritime boundaries. NLOD 2.0.
Sodir resource accounts, 31.12.2025, https://www.norskpetroleum.no/en/petroleum-resources/resource-accounts/, accessed 2026-11-07. Totals by resource class (norskpetroleum.no spreadsheet)
Sodir FactPages and FactMaps; base map Relief (Copernicus DEM GLO-90, EMODnet Bathymetry), https://github.com/AdmcCarthy/Relief, accessed 2026-11-09. Quadrants and field reserves from Sodir (NLOD 2.0). Land heights Copernicus DEM GLO-90 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus 2014-2018, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; sea-floor depths EMODnet Bathymetry Consortium (2024), generalised by Relief to a 2 km cell (4 km for the Barents Sea).

Conventions

Confidence. Observed measured or published by the source; Derived our calculation from observed data, method stated; Interpreted depends on a model, assumption or judgement.
Units. Volumes in Sm³ oil equivalent, with boe via the toggle (1 Sm³ o.e. = 6.29 boe). P90 means a 90% chance of exceeding: the low case.
Narrative arc. creaming-curve (early-giants → long-tail → whats-left).

Numbers in this story

Every number quoted in the text, with its exact value, method, source and confidence
Number	Exact value	Shown as	Method	Confidence
`fall_since_peak`	0.614698	61%	Fall in remaining reserves from the peak to today (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`growth_2004`	0.350716	35%	Hindsight growth: known now over estimated in 2004, minus one (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`n_fields`	139	139	Fields and field groups in the stack (Sleipner Øst, Vest and Gungne as one) (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Observed
`peak_total`	5,171,121,000 Sm³ o.e.	5,171 million	Highest monthly total of remaining reserves (February 2000), Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`now_total`	1,992,445,000 Sm³ o.e.	1,992 million	Remaining reserves, August 2026, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`ekofisk_rec`	708,030,000 Sm³ o.e.	708 million	Ekofisk recoverable volume, Sodir estimate 31.12.2025 (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Observed
`n_giants`	33	33	Fields of 500 MMboe or more (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`500 (parameter)`	500	500	Threshold or definition chosen for this story	Parameter
`giant_share`	0.830363	83%	Share of all recoverable volume held by giants (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`top10_share`	0.553319	55%	Share of all recoverable volume held by the ten largest fields (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`troll_jump`	1,777,748,000 Sm³ o.e.	1,778 million	Rise in total remaining reserves in September 1995, when Troll came on stream (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`troll_rec`	1,815,950,000 Sm³ o.e.	1,816 million	Troll recoverable volume (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Observed
`gas_share_1980`	0.236815	24%	Gas share of remaining reserves, December 1980 (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`gas_share_now`	0.566046	57%	Gas share of remaining reserves, August 2026 (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`n_sub_giant`	106	106	Fields below 500 MMboe (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sub_giant_share`	0.169637	17%	Share of recoverable volume in fields below giant size (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sverdrup_jump`	4.04401e+08 Sm³ o.e.	404 million	Rise in total remaining reserves in October 2019, when Johan Sverdrup came on stream (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sub_at_peak`	289,110,000 Sm³ o.e.	289 million	Remaining outside the giants at the quarter the shelf total peaks (2000-03), Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sub_share_peak`	0.0561447	6%	Share of remaining reserves outside the giants at the shelf peak (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sub_now`	444,380,000 Sm³ o.e.	444 million	Remaining outside the giants, 2026-08, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sub_share_now`	0.223039	22%	Share of remaining reserves outside the giants today (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`n_large`	22	22	Large fields (160 to 500 MMboe recoverable) (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`large_share_sub`	0.500405	50%	Share of what is left outside the giants that sits in large fields, today (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`n_small`	39	39	Small fields (under 50 MMboe recoverable) (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`n_medium`	45	45	Medium fields (50 to 160 MMboe recoverable) (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sm_now`	222,010,000 Sm³ o.e.	222 million	Remaining in small and medium fields together, 2026-08, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sm_share_now`	0.111429	11%	Share of remaining reserves held by small and medium fields today (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`small_now`	4.299e+07 Sm³ o.e.	43 million	Remaining in small fields, 2026-08, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`medium_now`	179,020,000 Sm³ o.e.	179 million	Remaining in medium fields, 2026-08, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sm_lo_0014`	80,650,000 Sm³ o.e.	81 million	Lowest remaining in small and medium fields, 2000 to 2014, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sm_hi_0014`	150,970,000 Sm³ o.e.	151 million	Highest remaining in small and medium fields, 2000 to 2014, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sm_peak`	2.2733e+08 Sm³ o.e.	227 million	Highest remaining in small and medium fields (2023-12), Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`n_start_0514`	28	28	Fields outside the giants entering their stream 2005 to 2014 (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`n_start_1525`	36	36	Fields outside the giants entering their stream 2015 to 2025 (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`added_0514`	267,510,000 Sm³ o.e.	268 million	Added outside the giants 2005 to 2014, volume left at entry, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`produced_0514`	281,710,000 Sm³ o.e.	282 million	Produced outside the giants 2005 to 2014 (added minus the change in what is left), Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`added_1525`	665,870,000 Sm³ o.e.	666 million	Added outside the giants 2015 to 2025, volume left at entry, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`produced_1525`	5.0374e+08 Sm³ o.e.	504 million	Produced outside the giants 2015 to 2025 (added minus the change in what is left), Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sanct_1525`	1.6873e+08 Sm³ o.e.	169 million	Volume in those fields, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`n_sanct_1525`	7	7	Fields outside the giants approved 2015 to 2025 and not yet producing (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Observed
`onstream_1525`	497,140,000 Sm³ o.e.	497 million	Added outside the giants 2015 to 2025 by fields already producing, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`giants_fall`	3,312,250,000 Sm³ o.e.	3,312 million	Fall in the giants' remaining volume from the shelf peak to today, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`sub_rise`	1.5527e+08 Sm³ o.e.	155 million	Rise outside the giants from the shelf peak to today, Sm³ o.e. (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`offset_share`	0.0468775	5%	Rise outside the giants as a share of the giants' fall since the shelf peak (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`then_2004`	3,917,700,000 Sm³ o.e.	3,918 million	Remaining reserves in Sodir's 2004 field table (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Observed
`n_fields_2004`	64	64	Fields in Sodir's 2004 reserve table (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Observed
`known_2004`	5,291,700,000 Sm³ o.e.	5,292 million	Same fields: today's remaining plus production 2005–2025 (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`north_share_now`	0.297163	30%	Share of remaining reserves in the Norwegian and Barents Seas today (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`north_share_1995`	0.0876268	9%	Share of remaining reserves north of 62°N, end of 1995 (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`n_tied`	67	67	Fields produced through another field's facilities (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Interpreted
`n_hubs`	26	26	Host fields with at least one tie-back (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Interpreted
`big2_share`	0.358836	36%	Troll and Johan Sverdrup share of remaining reserves (31.12.2025) (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`rp_years`	8.10662	8	Remaining reserves divided by production in the twelve months to August 2026, years; assumes production holds at today's rate and no new reserves (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Interpreted
`contingent`	1,108,000,000 Sm³ o.e.	1,108 million	Contingent resources in fields and discoveries, Sodir resource accounts 31.12.2025 (Sodir resource accounts, 31.12.2025)	Observed
`contingent_share`	0.511752	51%	Contingent resources (fields and discoveries) as a share of remaining reserves, both Sodir 31.12.2025 (Sodir resource accounts, 31.12.2025)	Derived
`1.9 (parameter)`	1.9	1.9	Threshold or definition chosen for this story	Parameter
`xb_max_gap`	862710 Sm³ o.e.	862,710.0	Largest mass-balance gap among cross-border fields (recoverable minus produced minus remaining) (Sodir FactPages and FactMaps)	Derived
`5 (parameter)`	5	5	Threshold or definition chosen for this story	Parameter
`6.29 (parameter)`	6.29	6.3	Threshold or definition chosen for this story	Parameter

Figures

Every figure with its source, confidence and any declared exception
Figure	Form	Source	Confidence	Notes and exceptions
Remaining reserves peaked in 2000 and have fallen by 61% since	custom	Sodir FactPages and FactMaps	Derived	Width = Sodir's estimate at 31.12.2025 plus production since each month (hindsight). Streams start at each field's production start and are smoothed over about a year for display; hover values are not smoothed. Exception (direct-labels): Around 1,200 streams: shade encodes six size classes in two linked colour families per fluid, with a legend, hover and labels on the largest fields instead of direct labels on all. Width has no axis; the two graphs share one scale and the hover gives values.
Oil and gas together peaked in 2000 and have fallen by 61% since	custom	Sodir FactPages and FactMaps	Derived	Width = Sodir's estimate at 31.12.2025 plus production since each month (hindsight). Streams start at each field's production start and are smoothed over about a year for display; hover values are not smoothed. Colour follows the larger of a field's recoverable gas and recoverable oil, NGL and condensate. Exception (direct-labels): Around 1,200 streams: shade encodes six size classes in two linked colour families, with a legend, hover and labels on the largest fields instead of direct labels on all.
Small and medium fields held level to 2014, rose, and have eased since 2023	custom	Sodir FactPages and FactMaps	Derived	Small is under 50 MMboe recoverable, medium 50 to 160; large fields (160 to 500) and giants are left out. The three graphs share one scale, larger than the total's (the note in the figure gives how many times; the bar gives a width). Width = Sodir's estimate at 31.12.2025 plus production since each month (hindsight). Fields approved but not yet producing enter at the approval date, at their full volume. Shades are stepped up two places in the size ramp so the two classes stay visible; the legend shows the shades used. Exception (direct-labels): Around 85 streams: shade encodes two size classes in two linked colour families, with a legend, hover and labels where a stream is wide enough instead of direct labels on all. Width has no axis; the bar gives a width.
Additions outside the giants have only kept pace with what these fields produce	line	Sodir FactPages and FactMaps	Derived	Added: the volume left in a field in the quarter it enters its stream (production start, or approval for fields not yet producing). Produced: added minus the change in what is left. Every volume is today's estimate, so reserve growth after start-up is credited at start-up, and earlier fields carry more of it.
The same fields held 35% more than Sodir estimated in 2004	line	Sodir FactPages and FactMaps	Derived	Estimated at the time: Sodir's field reserve table for that year. Known now: today's remaining plus production since, for the same fields. Field-level estimates before 2004 are not published in FactPages.
Most giants were found before 1990; later finds are mostly small	custom	Sodir FactPages and FactMaps	Observed	Fields only. Discoveries not yet developed are not shown, which flatters the recent decades less than it might. Exception (direct-labels): 139 points: colour shows fluid and size class (legend), the largest fields are labelled and hover gives the rest.
Remaining reserves spread north as the North Sea giants drained	custom	Sodir FactPages and FactMaps; base map Relief (Copernicus DEM GLO-90, EMODnet Bathymetry)	Derived	Fields assigned to the quadrant holding a point inside their outline. Dashed lines are agreed maritime boundaries. Exception (north-up): Maps rotated so the shelf runs up each panel and the frame leaves out empty land to the east; a north arrow marks the turn.
A few large hubs carry clusters of small tie-backs	custom	Sodir FactPages and FactMaps	Interpreted	Hubs read from Sodir's development descriptions (tied back, connected or processed at a named field's facility), chains resolved to the final host. Areas are the nearest named area in each sea, with a few overrides; see Basis of analysis. Exception (direct-labels): Circle packing with four levels: larger circles are labelled, hover and zoom give the rest.

Method

Width of a field in a month = Sodir's remaining reserves at the end of 2025 plus the field's reported production after that month (minus production since, for 2026). Today's widths therefore equal Sodir's remaining reserves, and fields that have shut down taper to zero.
Start of a stream = Sodir's first Producing status date. Test production before that (Troll from 1990, Oseberg 1986, Balder 1991, Grane 1996) is kept in the volumes but does not start the stream.
Fluids: oil, NGL and condensate are shown together as liquids. Reserves list NGL in million tonnes (× 1.9 to Sm³ o.e.); production lists it in Sm³. Gas: a thousand Sm³ count as one Sm³ o.e.
Groups: Sleipner Øst, Sleipner Vest and Gungne are one stream, because their production was reported under Sleipner Øst until about 2013.
Cross-border fields (Statfjord, Frigg, Murchison, Blane, Enoch, Flyndre, Islay, Tommeliten A, Utgard, Alvheim) carry the Norwegian share only; all balance within 862,710.0 Sm³ o.e..
Size classes: total recoverable volume on a log scale in half-decade steps anchored on giant (500 million boe) and super-giant (5 billion boe): small, medium, large, two giant steps, and super-giant. Two linked colour families per fluid split at giant size; oil is kept darker than gas in each class so the two stay apart for colour-blind readers.
Hubs and areas are an interpretation: hubs read from Sodir's development descriptions; areas from the nearest named area in each sea, with overrides for Valhall (southern North Sea), Grane (Frigg–Alvheim–Balder), Martin Linge (Oseberg–Troll) and Yggdrasil (Hugin, Munin and Fulla).
Not included: undiscovered resources, and production reported under three discoveries that are not fields (Troldhaugen, Delta and Alta) or under Sindre.

Glossary

Sm³ o.e.: standard cubic metres of oil equivalent; one Sm³ o.e. is 6.3 barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
Reserves: volumes in sanctioned developments still to be produced. Contingent resources: found but not yet sanctioned.
PDO: plan for development and operation, the sanction step on the Norwegian shelf.
Tie-back: a field produced through another field's platform or vessel.
Creaming curve: field size against discovery order; the largest fields tend to be found first.