Norway’s Equinor doubles its stake in a major untapped North Sea oil field with the $850 million acquisition of the UK arm of Suncor
- Equinor will hold an 80% interest in the Rosebank field and 30% in the Buzzard field
- It will also support UK-based Suncor employees working on these projects.
- Equinor to decide to invest £4.5bn in Rosebank development ‘in 2023’
Norway’s Equinor has doubled its stake in a key North Sea project with the acquisition of the UK branch of Suncor Energy for $850m (£708m).
The deal will see Equinor increase its stake in the Rosebank oil and gas field – one of the largest untapped reserves in the region – by 40%, bringing its total stake to 80%. The remaining 20% is held by Ithaca Energy.
The acquisition of Suncor UK will also include a 29.9% stake in the Buzzard oilfield and will see the Norwegian company take over Suncor’s UK-based employees who work on these projects.
Oil drilling: Rosebank could still contain more than 300 million barrels of recoverable oil
The vast Rosebank field, named after a Scottish malt whisky, lies about 80 miles northwest of the Shetland Islands. Drilling has been taking place in the area since 2004.
It could still contain more than 300 million barrels of recoverable oil, according to Equinor, which is in talks with the UK government to accelerate its potential £4.5 billion investment in the oil field.
The company said it would make a decision on this investment later this year’subject to UK government and partner approval”.
Some $250 million of the total consideration “is dependent on a final investment decision for Rosebank”, he added.
The deal will add approximately 15,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to Equinor’s own production in 2023.
The company has come under attack from climate activists in recent weeks over its booming profits and plans to expand the Rosebank project.
The UK government has also come under fire for its efforts to convince Equinor to commit to the project by critics who want the UK to move away from oil and gas.
“Equinor has been a reliable and extensive energy partner to the UK for nearly 40 years, developing domestic energy resources, producing low carbon electricity and supplying the equivalent of 29% of total natural gas demand. of the UK in 2022,” the company said today.
“Equinor is looking to further support the UK economy by investing billions in crucial energy infrastructure including offshore wind, carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen, power, oil and gas .”
