Equinor Receives Approval for Drilling Operations at Verdande

Equinor ASA EQNR, a Norwegian integrated energy company, has received approval from the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority to commence exploration and production activities in the Verdande development within the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea.

The Norne field, discovered in 1992, is located approximately 80 kilometers north of the Heidrun field at a water depth of 380 meters. Equinor received approval for the development and operation plan for Norne in 1995. The field was developed using a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The FPSO was tied back to seven subsea templates to ensure efficient and seamless extraction of hydrocarbons.

Production at the field using FPSO Norne began in 1997, and the company plans to leverage the existing infrastructure for the Verdande subsea development. EQNR received approval to proceed with Verdande in 2022 and has since prepared to integrate the project with FPSO Norne to maintain production efficiency.

Equinor hired the Transocean Encourage rig last year to move ahead with drilling activities in the Verdande field. The subsea field is anticipated to begin operations in the fourth quarter of this year. At the time of announcement, the project required an estimated NOK 5 billion in investments to maintain production levels at FPSO Norne and optimize the use of the existing subsea infrastructure.

Equinor is the operator of the Verdande license in the Norne field. The company holds a 59.3% interest in the license. The other partners in the license are Petoro, Vår Energi, Aker BP and PGNIG Upstream Norway, holding 22.4%, 10.5%, 7% and 0.8% stakes, respectively.

EQNR’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Currently, EQNR carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the energy sector are Repsol S.A. REPYY, Galp Energia SGPS SA GLPEY and Eni S.p.A. E. While Repsol sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Galp Energia and Eni carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

Repsolis a global multi-energy company, involved in exploration and production activities as well as refining and marketing petroleum products. The company is also actively involved in transitioning toward cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions. This suggests that Repsol is positioning itself in line with global energy transition needs.

Galp Energia is a Portuguese energy company engaged in exploration and production activities. The company’s oil exploration efforts have yielded positive results, particularly the Mopane discovery in the Orange Basin, offshore Namibia. After the initial exploration phase, Galp estimated that the Mopane prospect could hold nearly 10 billion barrels of oil. This discovery allows Galp to diversify its global presence, with the potential to become a significant oil producer in the region.

Eni is a leading global integrated energy company with a prominent focus on liquefied natural gas businesses. As natural gas has a lower carbon footprint compared with other fossil fuels, it will play an important role in the global energy transition process. Eni’s participation in the natural gas market will allow it to capitalize on the mounting global demand in the future.  

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research