Equinor has awarded four subsea contracts worth a combined NOK 6 billion ($612 million) for four projects on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
The majority state-owned operator said the awards are the first of several planned subsea projects that will use a coordinated contracting model designed to accelerate project execution and lower costs. Equinor said the approach allows suppliers to work across multiple developments, providing greater predictability while helping improve the economics of smaller oil and gas discoveries.
The four projects are expected to produce a combined 130 million to 220 million BOE over their lifetimes.
“We envisage around 75 subsea developments towards 2035. To realize these resources, we need to develop smaller discoveries faster and at a lower cost than today. This requires significant changes in how we plan and execute subsea projects. Our ambition is to halve both costs and execution time through simpler processes and standardized solutions together with our partners and suppliers,” Gunnar Nakken, Equinor senior vice president for projects and subsea on the NCS, said in a statement.
The scope of the four contracts includes
- TechnipFMC will deliver subsea production systems for Brime, Omega Sør, and Tyrihans Nord. The company will also install pipelines provided by Tenaris for the Troll field.
- OneSubsea will provide a subsea production system for the TWIN project along with umbilicals for all the projects.
- Ocean Installer will handle marine operations, which include installing and connecting subsea facilities, control cables, and flexible pipelines.
- NOV will provide flexible pipelines to Omega Sør, Tyrihans Nord, and Brime.
Equinor said much of the required equipment carries long lead times, prompting the company to invest early. The company added that equipment ordered for one project could be redeployed elsewhere if a development is not sanctioned by partners or approved by regulators.
Only the TWIN project has been sanctioned so far, while the remaining three are awaiting approval. The TWIN development is expected to produce 11 Bcm of natural gas from two wells. Equinor is the operator with a 30.55% share; its partners include Petoro (55.93%), Shell (8.19%), TotalEnergies (3.69%), and ConocoPhillips (1.64%).
In a separate announcement, Equnior said it has struck an agreement with BP to take over its share of the Bay du Nord project offshore Canada, which will make it the sole owner and operator.
The deal comes as BP attempts to simplify its portfolio, while Equinor said it is planning to reach a final investment decision (FID) on the project by early 2027. BP's average working interest across 10 license areas in the Bay du Nord is 37.212%, while Equinor holds the remainder.
“Over the past few years, we have strengthened Bay du Nord by improving the business case and reducing key risks. This transaction reflects our confidence in the project as we continue maturing it towards a [FID]. We will seek opportunities to bring in partners as part of the project's further development”, Philippe Mathieu, Equinor executive vice president for international exploration and production international, said in a statement.
Discovered in 2013, Bay du Nord is located in the Flemish Pass Basin, approximately 500 km offshore Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador. The field contains an estimated 400 million bbl of recoverable oil and is expected to be developed using a floating production, storage, and offloading unit. Total capital costs are estimated at approximately $9.8 billion.
“We’re proud of our partnership with Equinor and the work we’ve done together to develop the Bay du Nord project,” Gordon Birrell, executive vice president for upstream at BP, said in a statement. He added that BP is exercising “strict capital discipline” as part of its strategy to maximize value from its portfolio.