Vår Energi ASA and Equinor ASA have entered into a swap agreement to realign their investments in the Gjøa and Troll-Farm areas on Norway’s side of the North Sea, which they said would support faster tieback developments.
Majority state-owned Equinor is transferring its 32.5 percent operating stake in the Peon discovery – spanning production licenses (PL) 269, 318, 318B, 318C and 318D – to Vår Energi, which plans to connect the discovery to the existing Gjøa infrastructure. Equinor will retain 67.5 percent in PL269 and 27.5 percent in PLs 318, 318B, 318C and 318D.
“Peon is one of the largest undeveloped gas discoveries on the NCS [Norwegian continental shelf] with estimated gross recoverable resources of 105 to 195 million barrels of oil equivalent, and is located approximately 60 kilometers [37.28 miles] northwest of the Vår Energi operated Gjøa field”, Vår Energi said in a press release.
“The development of Peon as a tie-back to Gjøa is expected to contribute to extending the economic lifetime of the Gjøa hub to around 2045.
“The transaction will have limited impact on near-term production, while adding production from around 2030 as Peon is brought on stream, supporting Vår Energi’s long-term production target of above 400 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day”.
On June 25 operator Vår Energi said it has sanctioned the Gjøa Subsea Projects, which will enable tieback production at the Cerisa, Gjøa Nord and Ofelia discoveries between 2027 and 2028.
As part of the exchange with Equinor, Vår Energi is divesting a 5 percent interest in the Fram field (PLs 090, 090E, 090I and 1179), reducing its stake to 35 percent and increasing operator Equinor’s stake to 50 percent.
Contingent on the carve-out of the Fram PL090 area, Vår Energi would also give Equinor 40 percent stakes in the Mulder discovery and the Grønngylt prospect. Equinor would raise its ownership in both assets to 85 percent.
Vår Energi is also transferring 15 percent in PL090JS and 10 percent in PL925, both part of the Grosbeak discovery, to Equinor. Equinor will increase its stakes in the 2 licenses to 36 percent and 76 percent respectively.
The Grosbeak and Mulder discoveries and the Grønngylt prospect are part of the Ringvei Vest project near the Troll field. Operator Equinor and its partners recently agreed on a development plan for Ringvei Vest.
“We estimate that Ringvei Vest will contribute 240 million barrels of oil equivalent”, Kjetil Hove, Equinor executive vice president for exploration and production in Norway, said in an online statement June 18 announcing the development concept.
The swap with Vår Energi follows similar transactions undertaken by Equinor with Aker BP ASA and DNO ASA to refocus its investment and support faster tieback developments.
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