diff --git a/opm/parser/eclipse/IntegrationTests/ParseEQUIL.cpp b/opm/parser/eclipse/IntegrationTests/ParseEQUIL.cpp
index d11b7b64b..134322ab3 100644
--- a/opm/parser/eclipse/IntegrationTests/ParseEQUIL.cpp
+++ b/opm/parser/eclipse/IntegrationTests/ParseEQUIL.cpp
@@ -35,6 +35,24 @@ using namespace Opm;
 
 
 
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE( parse_EQUIL_MISSING_DIMS ) {
+    Parser parser;
+    const std::string equil = "EQUIL\n"
+        "2469   382.4   1705.0  0.0    500    0.0     1     1      20 /";
+    std::shared_ptr<const Deck> deck = parser.parseString(equil);
+    DeckKeywordConstPtr kw1 = deck->getKeyword("EQUIL" , 0);
+    BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL( 1U , kw1->size() );
+
+    DeckRecordConstPtr rec1 = kw1->getRecord(0);
+    DeckItemPtr item1       = rec1->getItem("OWC");
+    DeckItemPtr item1_index = rec1->getItem(2);
+
+    BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL( item1  , item1_index );
+    BOOST_CHECK( fabs(item1->getSIDouble(0) - 1705) < 0.001);
+
+}
+
+
 BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE( parse_EQUIL_OK ) {
     ParserPtr parser(new Parser());
     boost::filesystem::path pvtgFile("testdata/integration_tests/EQUIL/EQUIL1");
diff --git a/opm/parser/eclipse/Parser/Parser.cpp b/opm/parser/eclipse/Parser/Parser.cpp
index 55c1c24aa..543217c5a 100644
--- a/opm/parser/eclipse/Parser/Parser.cpp
+++ b/opm/parser/eclipse/Parser/Parser.cpp
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 
 #include <opm/parser/eclipse/Log/Logger.hpp>
 
+#include <opm/parser/eclipse/Parser/ParserIntItem.hpp>
 #include <opm/parser/eclipse/Parser/Parser.hpp>
 #include <opm/parser/eclipse/Parser/ParserKeyword.hpp>
 #include <opm/parser/eclipse/RawDeck/RawConsts.hpp>
@@ -360,13 +361,22 @@ namespace Opm {
                     targetSize = parserKeyword->getFixedSize();
                 else {
                     const std::pair<std::string, std::string> sizeKeyword = parserKeyword->getSizeDefinitionPair();
-                    DeckKeywordConstPtr sizeDefinitionKeyword = parserState->deck->getKeyword(sizeKeyword.first);
-                    DeckItemPtr sizeDefinitionItem;
-                    {
-                        DeckRecordConstPtr record = sizeDefinitionKeyword->getRecord(0);
-                        sizeDefinitionItem = record->getItem(sizeKeyword.second);
+                    DeckConstPtr deck = parserState->deck;
+                    if (deck->hasKeyword(sizeKeyword.first)) {
+                        DeckKeywordConstPtr sizeDefinitionKeyword = deck->getKeyword(sizeKeyword.first);
+                        DeckItemPtr sizeDefinitionItem;
+                        {
+                            DeckRecordConstPtr record = sizeDefinitionKeyword->getRecord(0);
+                            sizeDefinitionItem = record->getItem(sizeKeyword.second);
+                        }
+                        targetSize = sizeDefinitionItem->getInt(0);
+                    } else {
+                        auto keyword = getKeyword( sizeKeyword.first );
+                        auto record = keyword->getRecord();
+                        auto int_item = std::dynamic_pointer_cast<const ParserIntItem>( record->get( sizeKeyword.second ) );
+
+                        targetSize = int_item->getDefault( );
                     }
-                    targetSize = sizeDefinitionItem->getInt(0);
                 }
                 return RawKeywordPtr(new RawKeyword(keywordString, parserState->dataFile.string() , parserState->lineNR , targetSize , parserKeyword->isTableCollection()));
             }