Vår Energi ASA is selling its 20 percent interest in the Boyla field in the North Sea to Concedo AS for $24 million.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter, with an effective date of January 1, 2024. Concedo will assume full decommissioning liabilities for the acquired field.
The transaction does not impact Vår Energi’s previously announced production guidance for 2024, year-end 2025 and beyond, the company said in a news release.
"The transaction is aligned with our stated ambition to dispose of non-strategic assets to optimize our portfolio of assets; reducing our operating costs and emission outlook and enhance future value creation” Var Energi CFO Stefano Pujatti said.
The Bøyla field is a mature producing field located in the North Sea operated by Aker BP with an 80 percent interest and located 17.4 miles (28 kilometers) south of the Alvheim field. The field is developed with a subsea template including two horizontal production wells and one water injection well. The field is tied-back to the Alvheim production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), and production started in 2015.
The well stream is transported by pipeline to the Alvheim FPSO, where the oil is stabilized and stored before it is exported by tankers. Processed rich gas is transported by pipeline from Alvheim to the Scottish Area Gas Evacuation (SAGE) pipeline on the UK continental shelf.
Vår Energi’s net production from the Bøyla field was approximately 1,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter.
Var Joins OGMP
Meanwhile, Var Energi joined the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP), the flagship oil and gas reporting and mitigation program of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
The OGMP is an initiative in which nearly 140 oil and gas companies work with organizations such as the European Union (EU) and the World Bank to improve accuracy and transparency of methane emissions reporting.
Through its membership in OGMP, Vår Energi joins other major oil and gas companies in the work to detect and reduce emissions of methane in accordance with best practices, the company said in a separate statement.
Var Energi EVP for Safety and Sustainability Ellen Waldeland Hoddell said, "We are accelerating our decarbonization plan to maintain relevance and investability long term. This includes targeting methane emissions in 2024 to be ‘near zero’. For the first quarter of 2024 the methane emission intensity for Vår Energi was 0.02 percent of exported gas from operated assets, which is far below the industry target of 0.2 percent by 2025”.
“Nevertheless, further reduction is a key part of the roadmap we use as a guide in the effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Vår Energi is already linked to the global initiative Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), aiming for Zero Methane Emissions. Now we’re taking yet another important step, joining with the UNEP, EU and other major oil and gas companies in the work to achieve additional emission reductions,” Hoddell continued.
To contact the author, email rocky.teodoro@rigzone.com
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