Offshore staff
TRONDHEIM, Norway — OKEA has reached an agreement with Equinor on taking a 28% interest in PL037 in the Norwegian North Sea, covering the Statfjord Area.
The deal, which involves an initial fixed consideration of $220 million, would give OKEA a 23.93123% share of the Statfjord Unit; 28% of Statfjord Nord; 14% of Statfjord Øst; and 15.4% of the Sygna Unit (a subsea tieback).
OKEA’s stated strategy is to be a leading mid- to late-life operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Equinor has undertaken to cover 100% of the company’s share of the decommissioning costs for Statfjord A, while OKEA will be liable for its share of decommissioning expenditure for Statfjord B and C.
But Equinor would retain responsibility for any decommissioning costs relating to a full or partial removal of the three platforms’ gravity-based structures, should this be required.
In December 2021, Equinor signed an arrangement with Spirit Energy to acquire the latter’s interests in the Statfjord area. This lifted Equinor’s controlling interest in the Statfjord Unit to 78.6%, the remainder held by Vår Energi.
Following this latest transaction, which should complete in the fourth quarter (assuming government approvals), Equinor will remain operator with a 54.7% interest.
The Statfjord Area, with an initial oil in place of more than 6 Bbbl, is one of Norway’s largest fields. Statfjord A started production in 1979, followed by Statfjord B in 1982 and Statfjord C in 1985. The field has to date produced more than 5.1 Bboe and generated total revenues of over NOK1,675 billion ($155.92 billion).
“We still have high expectations for Statfjord, and by developing new ways of working, we aim to extend the lifetime of the field towards 2040 and reduce emissions 50% by 2030,” said Camilla Salthe, senior vice president for field life extension, FLX Salthe.
The Field Life extension (FLX) unit, created in 2020, was tasked with delivering a 200% increase in remaining reserves, a 25% reduction in overall costs and a 50% CO2 reduction in the Statfjord Area by 2030.
03.20.2023
