Norway/NCS ///
Western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer just witnessed its final investment boom, according to Norway’s largest bank.
In direct continuation of the rig’s current workscope, Maersk Integrator will move to the Ivar Aasen field offshore Norway to drill two wells, with work expected to commence in October 2020.
OPEC’s latest forecasts suggested a weaker outlook for global oil markets this year as surging supplies from competitors from Norway to Guyana threaten the group’s efforts to defend crude prices.
Odin Estensen, managing director of Neptune Energy in Norway, said “The awards support our
strategy to grow operatorship and acreage in and around our core areas. Through this latest licensing
round we have secured four more awards than in 2019, a record for our company in Norway.”
“The award enables us to mature new prospects and prove profitable resources that can be developed within the scope of our new climate roadmap for the Norwegian continental shelf,” said Nick Ashton, Equinor’s senior vice president for exploration in Norway and the UK.
Norway’s vision of establishing a new major oil province off its northern tip has suffered another blow.
Equinor and its partners in Norway’s Statfjord area have identified and approved plans to extend production from the field towards 2040.
In 2050, Equinor expects Norwegian oil and gas production to be less than half of current levels, assuming development of defined projects and substantial efforts to increase production from existing fields and continued exploration.
The agreement will be managed from DNV GL’s office in Stavanger, Norway and supported with a global network of 2,000 technical experts, with global services ranging from verification and environmental to due diligence studies.
Morten Baltzersen, the head of the Financial Supervisory Authority in Norway, says the rush to plow funds into investments that fulfill environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards has opened the door to a new risk.
Norway’s oil lobby raised the investment forecast for the country’s offshore industry for the coming years, even if it still sees a sharp drop in 2021 amid a lack of big new projects.
Equinor performed rigorous testing of the Stauper technology at the Grane Field in the North Sea, and the results showed that up to 99.5% of oil was removed from the produced water.
Sverdrup’s earlier-than-expected start in October broke a long trend of underperformance for Norway’s overall oil production. Output lagged forecasts in 28 straight months through September, even after the 2019 estimate was slashed to a 31-year low.
Royal Dutch Shell won a court ruling preventing environmental protesters from boarding unmanned oil installations in the North Sea.
For the first time, an exploration well is being drilled in the North Sea where the objective is not to find oil or gas.
Almost 40% of North Sea operators and contractors are concerned about diversification and energy transition with around half (49%) working to reduce their carbon footprints or develop low carbon solutions, according to an industry report.
Equinor will reduce its focus on the frontier areas of the Barents Sea in another blow to Norway’s ambition to build a new oil province in its Arctic region.
Ardyne has enhanced its relationship with Equinor through a frame agreement for fishing services covering all of the operator’s assets on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s preliminary production figures for October 2019 show an average daily production of 1.82 MMbblof oil, NGL and condensate, an increase of 264,000 bpd compared to September.
“The agreements form the basis for a strong long-term collaboration, allowing us to use new technologies, achieve continuous improvement and increase safety and value creation for all parties,” says Peggy Krantz-Underland, Equinor’s chief procurement officer.