OSLO, May 24 (Reuters) - Equinor ( EQNR ) and its

partners in the Troll gas field, Europe's largest, will invest

another 12 billion crowns to further boost production, the

Norwegian energy company said in a statement on Friday.

"This will accelerate production from the reservoir and thus

maintain the current high gas export levels from the Troll and

Kollsnes value chain leading up to 2030," Equinor ( EQNR ) said,

referring to an on-shore terminal through which the gas flows.

The new infrastructure will accelerate production equivalent

to about 55 billion standard cubic metres (bcm) of gas, and at

its peak the annual contribution from the additional development

will amount to around 7 bcm, Equinor ( EQNR ) said.

Norway is Europe's largest supplier of natural gas after a

sharp reduction in Russian deliveries since the start of the war

in Ukraine in 2022.

"The gas from Troll alone meets around 10% of Europe's

demands," Equinor's ( EQNR ) head of exploration and production in Norway

Kjetil Hove said in the statement.

Recent upgrades at the Kollsnes processing plant have

already raised Troll's maximum output capacity to 129 million

standard cubic metres (mcm) of gas per day from 121 mcm

previously, and this will rise further with the new investments.

"Production from the new Troll wells will amount to

about 20 million standard cubic metres of gas per day," Equinor ( EQNR )

said.

The first of the new wells are scheduled to come on

stream at the end of 2026, it added.

Operator Equinor ( EQNR ) holds a 30.58% stake in Troll while

Norway state firm Petoro owns 56%, Shell has 8.10%,

TotalEnergies 3.69% and ConocoPhillips ( COP ) 1.62%.