Wellesley and Equinor swap development assets in Norway

Norway’s Wellesley Petroleum and Equinor have signed a sale and purchase agreement covering several development assets on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Under the agreement, Equinor will acquire a 40 per cent participating interest in licences PL090 JS, PL248 I, and PL925, containing the Grosbeak and Kallåsen discoveries. Additionally, Equinor will assume operatorship of all three licences.

On the other hand, Wellesley will acquire a 10 per cent participating interest in licence PL942, containing the Ørn discovery and a 20 per cent participating interest in licences PL878 and PL878 B, containing the Atlantis and Canon discoveries. The transactions are subject to the normal authority approvals, the company said on Monday.

Chris Elliott, CEO of Wellesley, commented: “This transaction provides Wellesley with a balanced non-operated oil and gas development portfolio with very favourable ESG characteristics. We are proud of our role in operating a successful appraisal campaign on Grosbeak and moving the asset through the DG1 development phase. Post-transaction, Wellesley will retain a 23.7 per cent participating interest in Grosbeak.

Elliott further explained: “At this point, Equinor is the best-placed company to operate the project, given their development experience in the area. We look forward to maturing Grosbeak towards FID together with Equinor and our partners.

“Ørn and Atlantis are highly attractive gas development assets, and as a result of this transaction, Wellesley will hold a material 40 per cent participating interest in each project. We will continue to contribute as an active non-operating partner to secure a 2022 PDO submission for Ørn and to mature Atlantis and Canon as subsea tiebacks to the Kvitebjørn facility”.

The Kvitebjørn gas and condensate field lies in block 34/11, east of Gullfaks in the Norwegian North Sea. It has been developed with a fully integrated fixed steel platform with drilling and process facilities and living quarters.