Fossil Energy – Equinor/Shell
Norwegian explorer Equinor has entered into an agreement to acquire Shell’s equity in and operatorship of the Linnorm discovery in the Norwegian Sea.
Under the deal, Equinor will acquire a 30% interest in license PL 255 covering the Linnorm discovery, conditional upon taking over the operatorship from Norske Shell.
The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of 2024.
“Through this acquisition Equinor will deepen our position in the Halten area, in line with our strategy to optimize our portfolio on the NCS (Norwegian Continental Shelf),” said Kjetil Hove, executive vice president for exploration and production Norway in Equinor. “We know this area well, where we already have producing hubs and still see attractive opportunities.”
The Linnorm discovery was proven in 2005 and is the largest undeveloped gas discovery on the NCS. It is in the central part of the Norwegian Sea, 50 km northwest of the Draugen field in a water depth of around 300 m.
The discovery is estimated to contain from 25 to 30 billion m3 of recoverable natural gas resources. By comparison, this is more gas than remaining reserves in each of the producing fields Aasta Hansteen, Martin Linge, and Gina Krog.
