PGNiG will acquire non-operated interests in the Tommeliten discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in the greater Ekofisk area from Equinor for $220 million. Equinor will divest its 42.38% interest in the Tommeliten Unit (PL 044 TA) and 30% interest in PL 044. Both are operated by ConocoPhillips.
Discovered in 1976, net recoverable resources in the Tommeliten Alpha natural gas and condensate discovery total 52 million boe. According to current plans, production is expected to begin in 2024, and the development concept assumes subsea tie-back to the existing infrastructure on Ekofisk, allowing for a cost-effective development, further decrease of future production cost, and an acceleration of the field’s start-up, PGNiG said in a statement.
According to PGNiG estimates, the acquisition will increase the company’s Norwegian gas production by 500 million cu m/year in the first 6 years of production and allow PGNiG to extract 500,000 tonnes of oil and NGL in the peak production year.
“It is from here that we plan to send gas to Poland via Denmark through planned Baltic Pipe pipeline,” said Piotr Woźniak, president of the management board of PGNiG. It “allows us to implement our diversification strategy at attractive financial terms.”
The deal follows Equinor’s sale earlier this week of its operated interest in the King Lear discovery to Aker BP (OGJ Online, Oct. 15, 2018).
Closing is subject to approval by PGNiG’s supervisory board and customary conditions, including partner and authority approval.
