Page 15 - EurOil Week 40

EurOil INVESTMENT EurOil

Lundin to expand in Barents Sea

in $125mn deal with Idemitsu

SWEDEN SWEDEN’S Lundin Energy has announced it emissions production portfolio.”
will buy stakes in several oil discoveries in the The deal is subject to Norwegian regulatory
Lundin is one of the Norwegian Barents Sea from Japan’s Idemitsu for approvals and will need to be cleared by Idemit-
most active players in $125mn, adding 70mn barrels of oil equivalent su’s board.
the frontier region. (boe) to its reserves. Lundin also announced plans this week to
The transaction gives Lundin a 10% inter- sink three exploration wells in the Barents Sea
est in licences PL537 and PL537B containing during the fourth quarter, targeting over 800mn
the Wisting oil discovery. Wisting’s operator boe. The company has been one of the most
Equinor plans to file a plan to develop the find active players in the frontier region in recent
by the end of 2022, in order to benefit from tax years, having built up a portfolio of 21 operated
incentives granted by the Norwegian govern- and non-operated licences in the area.
ment in June. Lundin is bucking the trend. Exploration in
Lundin will also gain 15% interests in licences the Barents Sea has largely failed to live up to
PL609, PL609 and PL609D, raising its stake in initial expectations, and a series of dry wells in
the Alta oil discovery it operates to 55%. The recent years have led many operators to scale
company said it was looking at ways to fast-track back their activity in the area.
Alta’s development, so that it too can secure the It has been over 35 years since the first hydro-
tax incentives. carbon discovery was made in the Barents Sea:
The company will also secure extra interests the Equinor-operated Snohvit gas field. But Sno-
in licences PL609C and PL851, expanding its hvit and the Eni-led Goliat oilfield are still the
ownership of the Polmak exploration well from only projects to have entered production.
40% to 47.5%. Polmak is due to be spudded Equinor is developing the 400-650mn barrel
by the West Bollsta semi-submersible rig this Johan Castberg field, but the project has fallen
month. years behind schedule. First oil is currently
“I am very pleased to announce this strategic expected in 2022.
acquisition, which strengthens Lundin Energy’s Hoping to spur progress in the region, Nor-
position in one of our core exploration areas,” way’s Energy and Petroleum Ministry said in
company CEO Alex Schneiter said. “As we have late June it planned to offer 125 Barents Sea
already maintained, we will look to supplement blocks in eight areas in the country’s next fron-
our successful organic growth strategy with val- tier licensing round. A timeframe for the contest
ue-add, bolt-on acquisitions which add high has not yet been arranged, with delays caused
quality, commercial resources, and importantly, by environmental concerns about drilling in the
also complement our low-cost and low-carbon Arctic. ™

Week 40 08•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P15