Sval Energi exits Norwegian Sea development by selling share to Equinor

Norwegian energy company Sval Energi has signed an agreement with compatriot state-owned Equinor to sell its 11.8% share in the Halten East Unit in the Norwegian Sea, enabling Equinor to increase its ownership to 69.5%.

Located in the Kristin-Åsgård area in the Norwegian Sea, Halten East is an ongoing offshore development that comprises six gas discoveries and three prospects, set to use existing infrastructure and processing capacity at Åsgård B.

“We are pleased with this deal as it supports our ongoing efforts to optimize our portfolio. This allows us to exit a development asset in a non-core area on the Norwegian shelf for Sval,” said CEO of Sval Energi Halvor Engebretsen.

Sval Energi noted that its focus was to deliver further growth from its portfolio while continuing to pay dividends and take part in the ongoing consolidation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

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

The development will be carried out in two phases, with the drilling of six wells for five discoveries in the first phase, in 2024-2025, while the second phase, set for 2029, includes a sidetract to one discovery and three optional wells for the prospects.

The Halten East Unit was approved in May 2022 and is expected to start production next year.

The effective date of the transaction is January 1, 2024, and it is subject to approval by the Ministry of Energy.

“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 optimising our portfolio on the Norwegian continental shelf to ensure long-term value creation,” said Grete Birgitte Haaland, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Exploration and Production North.

The Halten East subsea development is tied back to the Åsgard facilities and includes the installation of three subsea templates in the south, and two subsea templates in the north. It comprises the Gamma, Harepus, Flyndretind, Nona, Sigrid and Natalia discoveries.

A total of up to ten wells are planned to be drilled. The southern structures will be tied in to a 49-kilometer pipeline from Mikkel South to Åsgard subsea compressor manifold station (SCMS), while the northern structure will be tied into a 22-kilometre pipeline from Natalia to SCMS.

Gas and oil/condensate are sent to Åsgard B for processing, and oil and condensate are stored in Åsgard C for export by tankers. Produced gas is sent through the Åsgard Transport gas pipeline to Kårstø, and from there to Europe.

Once the transaction is done, the owners in Halten East will include Equinor (69.5%), Vår Energi (24.6%) and Petoro (5.9%).