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ENERGY NEWS
Europe Energy Review By Tsvetana Paraskova
Oil & Gas Equinor and partners will invest US$1.1 billion (NOK 10 billion) in further developing the Oseberg field, the third-largest oil producer ever on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The Oseberg Area Unit partners will reduce CO2 emissions from the Oseberg Field Centre and the Oseberg South platform while increasing Oseberg gas production. An amended plan for development and operation (PDO) has been submitted to the minister of petroleum and energy Marte Mjøs Persen, Equinor said. “This investment decision allows us to increase production of Oseberg gas considerably in the future, while reducing CO2 emissions by an estimated 320,000 tonnes per year,” said Geir Tungesvik, Equinor’s senior vice president for project development. The Norwegian major has also agreed to buy all of Spirit Energy’s production licenses in the Statfjord area which spreads across the Norwegian and UK Continental Shelves and are developed by three integrated production platforms (Statfjord A, B, C). All licenses are operated by Equinor. The parties agreed on a total consideration of US$50 million, plus a contingent payment linked to commodity prices between October 2021 and December 2022. This acquisition by Equinor is part of several agreements Spirit Energy has reached
www.ogv.energy I January 2022
The Oseberg Field - Source: Equinor.com
Ownership changes and development plans for oil and gas fields offshore Norway, assessments of the UK and Scottish efforts toward net-zero, and many deals for offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture, and battery developments in the UK and elsewhere in Europe featured in the European energy market in the last days of 2021. to divest its Norwegian business and the Statfjord UK field. Sval Energi will acquire the interests held by Spirit Energy Norway AS, excluding the Statfjord Norway field. The headline consideration is US$1.076 billion (around £800 million), plus a contingent payment linked to commodity prices, Spirit Energy said. “Through this transaction Sval is further strengthened with an experienced, competent and accomplished team. Spirit Energy’s Norwegian portfolio adds material production and gives us a good asset base for further growth on the NCS”, Sval Energi’s CEO Nikolai Lyngø said. Equinor has also signed an agreement with Vermilion Energy Inc for the sale of its nonoperated equity position in the Corrib gas project in Ireland. The Corrib field, located 83 kilometres off Ireland’s northwest coast, started production in 2015.
The sale of Corrib means that Equinor will no longer have active business presence in Ireland, after also deciding to withdraw from an early phase offshore wind project in the country, the Norwegian company said. Maersk Drilling has won a one-well contract with OMV (Norge) AS, which will employ the lowemission jack-up rig Maersk Intrepid to drill a high pressure, high temperature exploration well in the Oswig prospect in the Northern North Sea basin offshore Norway. The contract is expected to commence in mid-2022 and includes an option to drill the Eirik exploration well. Aker BP and licence partners Equinor and Spirit Energy sanctioned the development of the Hanz oil and gas discovery in the North Sea, which will be tied into the Ivar Aasen platform about 12 kilometres further south. Expected start-up of the Hanz development is in the first half of 2024 and total reserves are around 20 million barrels of oil equivalent.
