Page 11 - EurOil Week 35 2022
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EurOil INVESTMENT EurOil
Aker BP plans $15.4bn splash on
Norwegian oil, gas projects
NORWAY NEWLY merged Norwegian oil firm Aker BP now boasts 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per
has pledged to slash some NOK150bn ($15.4bn) day (boepd) of production, making it the sec-
The company plans to in 15 oil and gas projects on the country’s shelf ond-largest operator on the Norwegian conti-
develop 15 oil and gas over the next five to six years, noting it would file nental shelf (NCS) after Equinor.
projects over the next development plans for approval from authorities In its announcement, Aker BP hailed the
five to six years. over this year. Norwegian parliament for providing some
The largest of the projects is in the NOAKA $11bn of tax relief to operators in 2020, at the
area of the North Sea, where Aker BP is looking height of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan-
to co-ordinate the development of several fields demic. The package enabled firms to reclaim tax
at a cost of NOK70bn. The building of a new on projects approved before the end of 2022, in
platform on the Valhall field in the south of the order to stimulate continued investment.
Norwegian North Sea, along with the hook-up “Now we are standing here a little over two
of the Fenris field, formerly known as King Lear, years later and see the direct result of the pack-
to the facility, would cost a further NOK40-50bn. age of measures that was adopted,” Karl Johnny
Contracts were issued last week to Worley for the Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP, said in a statement.
construction of two of the platform’s modules in The support has been “a fantastic success for both
the group’s Rosenburg yard in Stavanger. the supplier industry and the society in general,”
Meanwhile, the development of several sat- he said.
ellite fields near the Skarv floating production Aker BP is targeting a growth in output to
storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel in the around 525,000 bpd in 2028, with the help of
Northern Sea will require a further NOK16- the new projects. It expects these investments
20bn, and Aker BP has several more subsea to contribute more than NOK400bn ($41bn) in
developments in the works that will be tied taxes to the Norwegian treasury over the next ten
back to the Alvheim, Edvard Grieg and Ivar years, and result in 140,000 man-years to Norwe-
Aasen fields, all situated in the North Sea. gian workers.
There will be further “ripple effects” of its share “We will lead the transformation of the oil
in the Wisting development where Equinor is and gas industry. We are investing heavily in a
operator, the company said. number of digitisation initiatives aimed at cre-
Aker BP combined with Sweden’s Lundin ating a productivity resolution in the oil and
Energy at the end of June, in a move which it said gas industry,” Hersvik continued. “At the same
would create the “world’s best oil and gas com- time, we work closely with our alliance part-
pany with low costs, low emissions, profitable ners, all to maximise value creation and reduce
growth and attractive dividends.” The company emissions.”
Week 35 02•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11
