Equinor secures P&A services with three specialist contractors offshore Norway
Equinor has awarded long-term well P&A contracts for its fields offshore Norway.
Island Drilling will deploy the Island Innovator semisubmersible for its three-year contract, valued at almost $330 million, and due to start early next year.
The work scope includes mobilization, planned upgrades and provision of various integrated drilling services.
Under Equinor’s plan, the rig will permanently plug 15 to 20 oil and gas production wells annually across nine licenses, including subsea wells at the Heidrun, Snorre and Norne fields, among others. There are options to extend the duration of the contract further.
The company also issued three-year framework agreements to Baker Hughes Norge and Archer Oiltools.
Baker's work scope covers a full range of plugging services, with 2x2-year extension options.
Archer said its responsibilities include planning work for the permanent P&A of the Snorre UPA and Heidrun B&C templates. In addition, the company will take responsibility for the 26 wells to be plugged by the Island Innovator.
Equinor's Chief Procurement Officer Mette Ottøy said, “Through these contracts, the suppliers are involved at an early stage and get a greater responsibility for planning the plugging operations, closely monitored by Equinor, which has the overall responsibility.
“We facilitate the industrialization of safe and efficient plugging operations, ensuring continuous improvements together. This is about ensuring quality and reducing costs for work that will gradually increase on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the future.”
The company operates more than 1,400 production and injection wells on the shelf, and it plans to drill 600 improved oil recovery wells and roughly 250 exploration wells to maintain its production levels on the shelf out to 2035. From 2035-2045, it expects more intense permanent plugging activity.
On fields where production is shut down and wells have been plugged, most of the production installations will also be removed.
Equinor is currently working on four decommissioning projects as operator, all in the North Sea. At Veslefrikk and Heimdal, the wells have been plugged, production has ceased and the installations will be removed during 2025-2027.
On Statfjord A (SFA) a production shutdown is planned, and well plugging has started. Similar operations are set to begin at Oseberg East in 2026. Removal of the SFA platform, using Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, will be the heaviest offshore lift ever performed, Equinor added.
