Equinor and Aker BP enter into a strategic collaboration on tight reservoirs on
the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Through technology development, standardisation
and greater scale, the companies aim to enable the profitable development of
more discoveries and increase oil and gas recovery.
Significant volumes of oil and gas remain in tight reservoirs on the Norwegian
Continental Shelf. The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has estimated a
recoverable resource potential of around 2.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent
in mapped tight reservoirs, comparable in size to the expected recoverable
resources of the Johan Sverdrup field. Many of the approximately 90 discoveries
that have yet to receive a development decision are located in such reservoirs.
Tight reservoirs have low permeability, meaning that oil and gas flow very
slowly through the rock. Using conventional methods, only a limited share of the
resources can be recovered, and many discoveries are too costly to develop on a
standalone basis. The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has therefore encouraged
companies to work together.
"By taking a portfolio-wide approach and developing common solutions, we can
reduce costs and accelerate technology development. This can make more of these
discoveries commercially viable. The benefits will be shared by licence owners
and society alike," says Kjetil Hove, Executive Vice President for Exploration &
Production Norway at Equinor.
The collaboration covers prospects, discoveries and projects across the
Norwegian Continental Shelf. The companies will contribute relevant
opportunities from their respective portfolios and jointly identify where
technology development, standardisation and exchange of experience can create
the greatest value. The collaboration also includes resource maturation and well
stimulation solutions. The ambition is to establish a sufficient and predictable
activity level to support a competitive value chain, with the expertise and
supplier capacity required to develop more tight reservoir discoveries.
The collaboration will be governed through a joint steering structure and
multidisciplinary working groups comprising representatives from both companies.
"Scale is the key. By considering opportunities across both portfolios, we can
create the basis for increased activity, faster learning and lower costs.
Together, we can develop solutions more quickly and deploy them at a larger
scale. We are starting this work immediately," says Karl Johnny Hersvik, Chief
Executive Officer of Aker BP.
Contacts
Tore Dammann Langballe, VP Communications, tel.: +47 907 77 841
Kjetil Bakken, Head of Investor Relations, tel.: +47 918 89 889
About Aker BP
Aker BP is a company engaged in exploration, field development and production of
oil and gas on the Norwegian continental shelf. The company operates the field
centres Alvheim, Eiga, Skarv, Ula and Valhall, operates Yggdrasil, which is
under development, and is a partner in the Johan Sverdrup field. Measured in
production, Aker BP is one of the largest independent oil companies in Europe.
Aker BP is headquartered at Fornebu and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange
under the ticker code AKRBP. More about Aker BP at
www.akerbp.com (https://www.akerbp.com/en).
icker code AKRBP. More about Aker BP at\
www.akerbp.com (https://www.akerbp.com/en).\