Equinor to Increase Stake in Halten East Unit

Equinor ASA is increasing its position in the Norwegian Sea with an agreement to acquire Sval Energi’s 11.8 percent share in the Halten East Unit.

With the acquisition, Equinor increases its ownership to 69.5 percent, the company said in a news release. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

The transaction is subject to various regulatory approvals, with an effective date of January 1, 2024.

Halten East is an ongoing offshore development located in the Kristin-Åsgård area in the Norwegian Sea. The development comprises six gas discoveries and three prospects, which will tap existing infrastructure and processing capacity at Åsgard B, Equinor said.

The recoverable reserves in Halten East are estimated to be around 100 million barrels of oil equivalents, of which approximately 60 percent is gas that will be exported to Europe via Kårstø, according to the release.

Halten East consists of the Gamma, Harepus, Flyndretind, Nona, Sigrid and Natalia discoveries. It is a subsea development tied back to the Åsgard facilities and includes the installation of three subsea templates in the south, and two subsea templates in the north. A total of up to ten wells are planned to be drilled, Equinor said.

The southern structures will be connected to a 30.4-mile (49-kilometer) pipeline from Mikkel South to the Åsgard subsea compressor manifold station (SCMS), while the northern structure will be tied into a 13.7-mile (22-kilometer) pipeline from Natalia to the SCMS.

Equinor stated that the development is planned to be carried out in two phases, with the drilling of six wells for five discoveries in the first phase (2024-25). The second phase (2029) includes a sidetrack to one discovery and three optional wells for the prospects. The Halten East Unit was approved in May 2022 and is on track to start production next year, the company noted.

“Halten East is an important project with strong profitability and low emissions, in a core area for Equinor. The transaction is in line with our strategy of optimizing our portfolio on the Norwegian continental shelf to ensure long-term value creation,” Grete Birgitte Haaland, Senior Vice President for Exploration and Production North, said.

Last week, Equinor signed an agreement with EQT Corporation to acquire additional non-operated interest in the Northern Marcellus formation in the USA for $1.25 billion.

Under the agreement, Equinor will acquire 100 percent of EQT’s remaining working interest in Northern Marcellus gas units primarily operated by Expand Energy, according to a separate news release. The closing of the acquisition is subject to relevant regulatory approvals.

“The transaction will increase cashflow from the international portfolio by adding natural gas volumes with low carbon intensity emissions from production,” Equinor said.

With the transaction, Equinor increases its average working interest in the Northern Marcellus asset from 25.7 percent to 40.7 percent. The transaction adds approximately 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to Equinor’s US production.

EQT Corporation is one of the largest producers of natural gas in the USA with operations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.

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