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Raising the rate of alternative crude at the management and value creation in the region,” Shell owns 30% in the project, while
Hungarian refinery to 100% would take as Bjørn Thore Ribesen, VP Field Development Siccar Point, which operates it, holds the
long as 2-4 years and cost “several hundred and Projects, said. remaining 70%. The field could produce up
million dollars”, MOL said. Using alternative Vår Energi entered into the Barents Blue to 170 million barrels of oil equivalent and
sources of crude would also impact the partnership with Equinor and Horisont 53.5 billion cubic feet of gas over 25 years,
product mix of the refinery and “could cause Energi to explore the possibilities for according to Siccar Point.
supply problems in the case of some products producing blue ammonia from natural gas,
in the short and mid-term”, it added. with CO2 capture and storage in Hammerfest,
If deliveries of Russian crude through in September 2021. This was followed by a Hungary’s MOL sells UK
the Druzhba pipeline are no longer possible, cooperation agreement with the partnership
MOL could supply the refinery in Hungary for the development of the Polaris CO2 North Sea assets to Waldorf
as well as the one in Bratislava from the Adria storage concept signed in the same year.
pipeline, MOL said. The license was awarded to the Polaris Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has
The company noted it has spent $170mn, project partnership by the Norwegian signed a deal to sell its entire upstream
so far, on reducing the ratio of REB at its Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, as part of portfolio in the UK North Sea to Waldorf
Hungarian refinery and increasing the volume the announcement of CO2 storages on the Production.
of deliveries it can take through the Adria Norwegian Continental Shelf on April 5. The divested offshore assets include MOL’s
pipeline. 20% stake in the Catcher field, a 50% stake in
Scolty & Crathes, and a 21.8% stake in Scott as
well as stakes in a number of other licenses.
Equinor, Var Energi, Horisont UK regulator extends licence production peaked above 18 mboepd in 2019
MOL said its UK working interest
for UK Cambo field
secure Barents Sea CO2 The British oil and gas regulator has extended and has been falling in the last two years, with
fourth-quarter 2021 production marginally
storage licence by two years the license for the Cambo above 12 mboepd. MOL’s corresponding
proved and probable reserves (SPE 2P)
oilfield prospect in the North Sea which is
Norwegian oil and gas company Vår Energi owned by Shell and Siccar Point, Shell said on amounted to 14.9 MMboe at the end of 2021.
has together with its partners Equinor Wednesday. According to MOL, Waldorf offered a
(operator) and Horisont Energi, been awarded “The North Sea Transition Authority base cash consideration of $305 million,
the Polaris CO2 storage license in the Barents has awarded Siccar Point Energy and Shell which is subject to customary purchase price
Sea, UK an extension to the underlying licenses adjustments and is based on an economic
The Polaris CO2 storage reservoir is containing the Cambo field which were due to effective date of January 1, 2021. In addition,
located in the Barents Sea, ca 100 km off expire tomorrow,” Shell said in a statement. the agreement contains an earn-out scheme
the coast of Finnmark. It represents a key Shell last December announced it had mainly dependent on oil prices during 2022-
component of the Barents Blue project which scrapped plans to develop the field, which had 2025.
Vår Energi is further developing towards become a lightning rod for climate activists Waldorf will also take upon itself all future
a concept selection in collaboration with seeking to halt the development of new oil and field abandonment liabilities such that on
Equinor and Horisont Energi, Vår Energi said. gas resources. completion MOL said it would “derecognize
The Barents Blue project partnership plans But following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine provisions of around USD 350 million.”
to use the Polaris reservoir to permanently and the greater focus on European energy MOL also said its average lifting cost
store CO₂ captured from the Barents Blue security, there have been growing calls to would improve following the completion of
facility in the Hammerfest region. Barents develop new oil and gas fields in the North the transaction, as the production costs of the
Blue will enable the production of carbon- Sea. UK assets exceed the average lifting costs of
neutral ammonia reforming natural gas from Shell said its position hasn’t changed, but the rest of MOL’s E&P portfolio.
the Barents Sea to clean, blue ammonia, using that “the extension to the licenses will allow The closing of the transaction is subject to
carbon capture and storage. time to evaluate all potential future options for obtaining necessary approvals and is expected
“We are aiming to become a net-zero the project.” to take place in the second half of 2022, MOL
producer, scope 1 and 2, by 2030, and the Siccar Point confirmed the two-year said.
Barents Blue and Polaris could become an extension, adding that the private equity-
important step towards being carbon neutral. backed company “continues to work with its
As an owner of major resources in the Barents co-venturer Shell and the U.K. government to
Sea, we are committed to effective resource map out the next steps on Cambo.”

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 14 07•April•2022