Equinor

Norway’s Equinor has breached safety regulations at its long-delayed Martin Linge oil and gas development and must fix the problems before output can begin, an industry regulator said.

The Italian oil and gas major has taken on a 20% stake in the first two phases of the project, which ultimately will be run by Equinor.

As it reaches for net-zero emissions, the company said its operations offshore Norway remain central to its long-term strategy.

Equinor issued a letter of intent to Odfjell Drilling and its semisubmersible rig Deepsea Aberdeen for the drilling of 15 wells for the Breidablikk Group, which recently submitted the plan for development and operation. Drilling is scheduled to start in spring 2022 with the campaign estimated to last through autumn 2024.

The Northern Lights project will disclose data sets from the confirmation Well 31/5-7 Eos drilled in the North Sea and completed earlier this year.

The EPCI contract for the Breidablikk development includes provision of flexible jumpers and rigid pipelines as well as pipeline installation work. About 70% of the value creation in the Breidablikk development phase is expected to go to Norwegian companies.

The memorandum of understanding with Microsoft follows a conditional investment decision in May that Equinor, Shell, and Total made for the carbon capture and storage project.

The latest agreement between Wood and Equinor will begin January 2021. The contract follows recent agreements between the two companies for the Breidablikk development in the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The memorandum of understanding with Microsoft follows a conditional investment decision made in May by Equinor, Shell, and Total. Pending Norwegian government approval, the final investment decision for the project is expected in late 2020 with startup expected in 2024.

One year after the Johan Sverdrup field came on stream, Equinor says digital technology has proven to be key to safety and value in all parts of the operation, increasing earnings by more than $200 million.