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Kjell Inge Røkke’s oil company Aker BP, which will soon be by far the largest private player on the Norwegian shelf as a result of the acquisition of Lundin Energy, will take over the operatorship of the entire Noaka project in the North Sea, it is stated in a stock exchange announcement on Thursday.
The development consists of several fields, and is one of the largest and most important oil projects remaining on the Norwegian shelf. It will also be the most important project Aker BP’s organization has driven from discoveries to production since the company was created through several transactions in recent years.
More effective
Aker BP has so far shared operator responsibility in the project with Equinor, which is part owner of several of the fields. Noaka includes the area north of the Alvheim field, as well as Fulla and Krafla. Equinor is currently the operator of the latter, but both companies agree that the most efficient solution for both development and operation of the fields is one operator.
– Today’s agreement is a result of good cooperation in recent years, built on mutual trust and a common ambition to create lasting improvements and efficient operations on the Norwegian shelf, says Geir Tungesvik, Executive Vice President for Projects, Drilling and Procurement at Equinor in the report.
– Aker BP and Equinor have worked very well together in recent years on the development of Noaka. We are proud to be able to take on the operatorship of Krafla, to ensure efficient project implementation and operation of the entire area on behalf of the licenses, says Aker BP CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP.
Illustration of the Noaka project. (Photo: Aker BP)
Former combat cocks
The good climate of cooperation that the company leaders emphasize in the report has not always been a matter of course.
It was a stormy relationship for a long time when it comes to this particular project. For years, they were in almost open conflict with each other about which development solution to choose.
But then something happened: Only days after the controversial oil tax package was adopted by the Storting in June 2020, to support the industry through the pandemic, the former fighting cocks announced that they had reached an agreement on the project.
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The letter of intent between Aker BP and Equinor on the operatorship comes a few weeks before Aker BP takes the step up to undisputed status as the Norwegian continental shelf’s second largest oil company, only just beaten by the state giant Equinor. The acquisition of Lundin’s Norwegian operations will give Aker BP a production of over 400,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day, approximately ten percent of Norway’s total production. The transaction is scheduled to take place on 30 June.
No transaction in Noaka
Noaka is by far the largest project of Aker BP, and the latest estimates are about ten billion dollars in investments, or about 93 billion kroner at today’s exchange rate. Last year, resource estimates were upgraded from 500 million to 600 million barrels of oil equivalents.
The Noaka area will be developed with power from land, and production is scheduled to start in 2027.
The plan for development and operation will be submitted this year, in order to meet the deadline for the oil tax package. This means major tax benefits for projects that receive government approval by the end of 2023.
The transfer of the operatorship only takes place when this plan is delivered, and does not involve any transaction between the companies, as Equinor retains its ownership interests in the various fields. They are as follows: (Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases using a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content may only take place with written permission or as permitted by law. For additional terms look here.
- Krafla: Equinor 50 percent, Aker BP 50
- Fulla: Aker BP 47.7, Equinor 40, Lotos 12.3
- Noa (North of Alvheim): Aker BP 87.7, Lotos 12.3
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