Page 12 - FSUOGM Week 50 2020

FSUOGM INVESTMENT FSUOGM

Equinor expands in Russian

upstream

RUSSIA NORWAY’S Equinor has expanded its upstream Verkhneichersky block, where a 445mn barrel
presence in Russia, striking a deal with Rosneft oil discovery was made in 2016. It also controls
Equinor has several to take interests in 12 licences in Eastern Siberia. the Sanarsky, Preobrazhensky and Mogdinsky
joint ventures underway Equinor has acquired a 49% stake in a Ros- licences, where finds were made between 2011
with Rosneft. neft subsidiary called KrasGeoNaC (KGN) that and 2013.
controls the licences, for $550mn. One of the Rosneft’s new partnership with Equinor
licences, North Danilovsky, contains the North- comes after the company recently said
Danilovskoye discovery that was brought into it intended to sell some of its mature
production in July. The field in the Irkusk region upstream assets with over 400,000 bpd of
is expected to produce 40,000 barrels per day output over the next 18 months, in order to
of oil by 2024, eventually rising to 70,000 bpd, raise funds for its Vostok Oil megaproject
Equinor said. in the Arctic.
Eastern Siberia contains large but often geo- The deal also brings an end to Equinor’s
logically challenging oil reservoirs in typically exploration joint venture with Rosneft in the
remote locations. Environmental conditions are Sea of Okhotsk in the Russian Far East, where
also difficult, with harsh winter temperatures the pair drilled two wells in 2016 that turned up
hindering drilling and warm summers causing dry. Equinor said it had redirected its remaining
ground in some areas to turn into swamps, mak- commitments in the Sea of Okhotsk to KGN and
ing roads impassable and posing a risk to field “as such has no outstanding obligations in that
facilities. area."
Rosneft and other Russian companies have Equinor already works with Rosneft onshore
reached out to international partners to help at the North-Komsomolskoye field in the Yama-
overcome these challenges and share develop- lo-Nenets region. The Norwegian firm closed a
ment costs. deal last year to buy a 33.3% stake in Sevkom-
North-Danilovskoye is situated near to Ver- neftegaz, the operator of the 810mn barrel heavy
khnechonskoye, one of the largest oilfields in oilfield. Output at North-Komsomolskoye began
Eastern Siberia, where Rosneft is working with in 2018 and averaged 11,000 bpd in January-No-
Chinese partner Beijing Gas. Verkhnechonskoye vember. The pair took a final investment deci-
produces over 160,000 bpd of oil, most of which sion (FID) in January on developing its deeper
is pumped to China and Asia-Pacific markets PK1 layer.
via the Eastern Siberian – Pacific Ocean (ESPO) Equinor has also teamed up with Rosneft to
pipeline. develop the hard-to-recover Domanik forma-
Two years after North-Danilovskoye’s discov- tion in the Volga-Urals region, and it also holds
ery in 2011, Rosneft announced plans to include a 30% interest in the mature Kharyaga project
the field in a new production hub centred on in the Timan-Pechora Basin, led by state-owned
Verkhnechonskoye. KGN also has rights to the Zarubezhneft. ™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 50 16•December•2020