Equinor NEWS

Sweden-based Coor has landed a contract extension from Norwegian energy major, Equinor for offshore facility management. The contract extension is a direct continuation of Coor's March 2015 contract. Coor has been delivering facility management services to five Statfjord and Snorre oil platforms for 5 years. The contract agreement is estimated to cost Equinor ~$19.8m each year and the latest extension will come into effect from July, 2020.

Norwegian oil major, Equinor has been aiming to cut around $3 billion in investments, exploration drilling and operating costs in order to navigate through coronavirus crisis and low oil prices. In a statement, Equinor affirmed that the new measures will allow its operations to be cash-flow neutral in 2020 at an average oil price of around $25 per barrel. Equinor has already terminated a $5 billion share buyback program.

In a first for an offshore platform, a worker aboard Equinor’s Martin Linge offshore facility has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is being kept in isolation. The Norwegian oil major yesterday said, “The activity on the field will be reduced today. Personnel remain at the installations they are already located on. Equinor is continuously evaluating further measures,”. The infected person had a recent travel history to Austria.

In a first for an offshore platform, a worker aboard Equinor’s Martin Linge offshore facility has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is being kept in isolation. The Norwegian oil major yesterday said, “The activity on the field will be reduced today. Personnel remain at the installations they are already located on. Equinor is continuously evaluating further measures,”. The infected person had a recent travel history to Austria.

Norwegian energy major, Equinor has dropped the idea of a downscaled ship-to-ship oil transfer terminal for the Johan Castberg field, attributing higher economics as the reason. Equinor undertook a study of ship-to-ship oil transfer from the Barents Sea by a quay in Finnmark county in March 2018. Equinor will now export the oil from Johan Castberg directly to the market. The Johan Castberg is operated by Equinor, where Var Energi and Petoro are partners.

Norwegian oil major, Equinor has awarded its subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) services contract to Dutch subsea services provider DeepOcean. The contract terms require Deepocean to carry out subsea remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations that include IMR activities on Equinor’s assets on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) including associated project management and engineering services. Deepocean will deploy its subsea vessel Normand Ocean on the project.

Brazil's Petrobras and Equinor have signed a memorandum of understanding on the joint development of natural gas business projects. Both the companies want to focus on enhancing the downstream value through thermoelectric generation. Petrobras informed that "The companies intend to combine efforts in investment in the natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and power generation segments".

Ashtead Technology has completed a subsea installation monitoring project for Ocean Installer AS. To support the installation, Ashtead has integrated its Deflection Monitoring System (DMS) services and equipment. “The DMS system proved invaluable for the safe and efficient installation of the ITS structures during the Askeladd and Johan Castberg projects", said Ocean Installer, offshore manager.

The Norwegian energy major, Equinor, yesterday, said that it will commence cleaning activities for onshore oil spill discovered this week at its Bahamas storage terminal. The size of the oil spill which took place in the aftermath of hurricane Dorian has not been estimated yet. Operations at the South Riding Point terminal came to a halt on Aug 31st in lieu of the hurricane Dorian.

Norwegian energy major, Equinor has informed about concluding the divestment of its 16% stakes in Lundin Petroleum. First announced in July 2019, the divestment will give Equinor a 2.6% direct ownership share in Johan Sverdrup oilfield. Equinor, which gained $650m out of the deal, will continue to retain a 4.9% stake in Lundin.

Norwegian energy major, Equinor yesterday reported a light oil discovery in the Sputnik exploration well in the Barents Sea. The recoverable resources from the discovery has been estimated to be approximately 20-65 million barrels of oil (MMbbl). The Sputnik well was drilled in the PL855 licence, situated about 30 km northeast of the Wisting discovery. The PL855 licence is operated by Equinor, where OMV and Petoro are partners.

Norwegian oil major, Equinor has concluded the acquisition of Shell’s stake in the Caesar Tonga oil field. The acquisition has increased Equinor’s interest in the field to 46%. The operatorship of the field remains with Anadarko Petroleum, with a 33.75% interest, while Chevron owns a 20.25% interest. The deal between Equinor and Shell which was first announced in May 2019, recently received approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Norwegian energy major, Equinor ASA yesterday informed about its plans of divesting 16% of its interests in Lundin Petroleum for approximately $1.56 billion. Equinor holds about $54.5 million in Lundin. The firm will also increase its direct ownership share in the Johan Sverdrup field by 2.6%, for a cash consideration of $910 million.

Austrian oil firm, OMV and Equinor have come together for offshore Norway projects. Both the companies will simultaneously work on the Wisting development in the Barents Sea. Also, they will work on the concept development for the Hades-Iris discovery. Equinor’s Nylund said, "It is important for us to create value and maintain activity on the Norwegian continental shelf for many decades ahead, in close cooperation with other players".

Equinor has awarded subsea pipelines and marine operations contract. The contract pertains to phase two of the Johan Sverdrup project. Subsea 7 will be required to install 100 kms of infield pipelines and 25 spools, apart from installing umbilicals and carry out “marine operations”. The award is built upon successful delivery and installation of several subsea components and tie-in of pipelines by Subsea 7 in phase one.

Equinor’s report “Energy Perspectives” reveals that global climate action by energy companies to keep global warming below 2°C is not enough. The ninth edition of the report offers a global review of possible developments in the energy market towards 2050. Further, it focuses on the opportunities and challenges related to sustainable development while meeting global energy demands.

According to the executives at the Norwegian energy giant, UK’s significance is increasing for Equinor owing to landmark projects in the North Sea. “It is clearly one of the most important countries in our international portfolio. We have 30 countries in there, including three very significant ones – Norway, Brazil and the US”, said the Executive VP for development and production international at Equinor, Torgrim Reitan.

Equinor has awarded a contract to Kaefer Energy AS. It is a service contract within insulation, scaffolding and surface treatment (ISO) on Johan Sverdrup field. It is worth approximately more than NOK700 million. The scope of work the contract will include ordinary operations and maintenance work, some of the work from Phase 2 of the project.