Equinor NEWS

Some of the installations of Equinor were scheduled for a shutdown in the near future. But, the Norwegian company has now received approval from the authorities for extending the life of eight installations on the NCS during the last three years. The life extension has been given to Gullfaks A, B and C (2036), Oseberg East (2031), Snorre A and B (2040), Norne (2036) and Åsgard A (2030).

Norwegian oil major, Equinor has announced oil discovery from the Visund A Platform in the Telesto exploration well in the North Sea. The newly discovered reserve is estimated to contain approximately 12-28 million barrels of recoverable oil. Equinor operates the production license 120, where Petoro, ConocoPhillips and Repsol are partners. The Visund A platform will now proceed with drilling development wells on the Visund field.

According to the sources, Royal Dutch Shell wants to increase output and recoverable reserves from its gas field, Ormen Lange in Norway. The energy giant is planning to install subsea compressors in the field in order to boost production. Shell and its partners, Equinor and Exxon are now aiming to choose between two proposals, which are from OneSubsea and TFMC, intended to improve output and recoverable reserves.

Transocean has entered into an agreement with its customer, Equinor, wherein the company will license and install Automated Drilling Control (ADC). ADC will be installed on the four rigs which are currently working in Norway and the fifth rig which is expected to commence its operations soon in the Norweigan sea. CEO commented, "The ADC upgrades advance our automation efforts and further enhance our industry-leading fleet of semi-submersibles".

Equinor has acquired 40% operated interest of Chevron in the Rosebank project in the UK Continental Shelf. This acquisition was announced in October 2018 and has now been completed by both the energy companies. This Rosebank deal has further added to Equinor’s upstream portfolio which already includes Mariner development. Currently, Equinor is the largest crude oil and natural gas supplier to the UK.

Norway’s energy company, Equinor has completed the sale of its two non-core discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Both the discoveries were announced in October 2018. The first sale worth $250 million, was of a 77.8% operated interest in the King Lear discovery to Aker BP. The second sale worth $220 million, was of 42.38% non-operated interests in the Tommeliten Unit (PL044 TA) and 30% in PL044 to PGNiG.

Norwegian energy major, Equinor has announced the replacement of accounting firm, KPMG with EY in 2019. Final decision with regard to EY’s appointment will be taken at Equinor’s Annual General Meeting in May, 2019. KPMG lost to EY following a competitive audit tender. KPMG will carry out Equinor’s audit for the current financial year. KPMG and EY are part of the ‘big four’ global auditing firms.

Equinor has successfully completed its sale of stakes in Alba field in the North Sea. The deal has been made between Verus Petroleum and Equinor and the sum has not been revealed. Moreover, Verus has been awarded 17 % interest in the Cheveron-operated development. After this, Verus will have the responsibilities for any new Alba facilities. This sale has been in line with Equinor’s strategy to aim at “core activities”.

Norwegian oil major, Equinor has granted the £85m jacket supply contract for the Johan Sverdrup project to Kvaerner. Under the scope of the contract, Kvaerner will carry out engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the steel substructure for the second processing platform in Johan Sverdrup field. The 12,300-tonne substructure is expected to be installed in spring 2021.

Equinor has signed a framework agreement with Norway Rowan. The Rowan Stavanger jack-up rig has won a £17.7million contract for drilling work at Equinor’s Gurdrun field. Under the scope of the contract, the rig will drill two wells for five months. It has five extension options that are not included in the initial contract value. The framework agreement gives the operator exclusive rights to the rig.

Norwegian oil major, Equinor has entered into an agreement to farm out its non-operated interests in the Tommeliten discovery to PGNiG. The Tommeliten field, containing gas/condensate, was discovered in 1976. This $220 million transaction follows the recent sale of Equinor’s King Lear discovery to Aker BP. Equinor will also divest its 30% stakes in another block of acreage. ConocoPhillips is the operator of both the blocks.

BASF-owned Wintershall has received green light to go ahead with drilling operations at the Marisko Prospect in the Norwegian Sea. Wintershall will deploy Transocean Spitsbergen rig for carrying out the drilling process on the prospect. Operations at the prospect are expected to last 61 days. If a discovery is made, operations will continue for 93 days. Repsol, OMV and Equinor are stake holders of Marisko prospect where Wintershall is the operator.

China's state-owned CNPC yesterday agreed on collaborating with Norwegian energy major, Equinor for oil and gas exploration, renewables and carbon capture technology. The firms inked an MOU to explore opportunities in tapping unconventional gas resources in China, apart from partnering at global oil and gas projects. Relations between China and Norway had soured over the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarding its Peace Prize to jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo in 2010.

Norwegian oil giant, Equinor has sold its 77.8% interests in the King Lear discovery to Aker BP in a multi-million dollar deal. First discovered in 1989, King Lear is a gas /condensate asset in the North Sea. Net recoverable resources are estimated at 77 million barrels of oil equivalent. The final transaction in this regard is subject to customary conditions.

Royal Dutch Shell and Equinor ASA have informed that they are committed to the project that will allow export of Tanzanian natural gas. The proposal to build LNG plant is in process since 2014 but has been surrounded by uncertainties in Tanzanian policy. The project is worth $30 million. Shell’s spokeswoman said, “For now, the focus is on agreeing to the Host Government Agreement that is to set the legislative, regulatory and fiscal terms for the project”.

Equinor has awarded a 5-month contract to Maersk Drilling AS and the Maersk Intrepid rig. These companies will provide operational support on the Martin Linge field. Maersk Intrepid rig has a deal until April 2019 which has now been extended to two one-month contracts. Four new two-month extension options will also be provided to the Interpid. The deal is estimated more than £30 million.

Europe’s leading E&P Company, Lundin Petroleum will acquire Equinor’s 15% in the Norway’s license including the discovery of Luno II. The deal involves the transfer of 20% stake in the Rungne to Equinor. This acquisition will increase Lundin’s interest in PL359 to 65%. The transaction date has been decided as January, 2018 and completion is the matter of government approvals.

Equinor has strengthened its alliances with the global service provider companies, TechnipFMC and Aker Solutions. After entering into several framework agreements with both supplies in December 2017, new collaboration agreements have been signed recently to “establish a framework to ensure continuous improvements”. The main objective of this collaboration is to improve the safety, quality, cost and technology by subsea operation services and project execution.