Norwegian oil and gas major Equinor is reportedly in plans to divest its stake of 36.5% in the producing Corrib gas project in the Atlantic Ocean, located off the coast of Ireland.
The company wants to raise nearly $400m by selling its interest in the offshore natural gas field, reported Reuters, citing three banking and industry sources.
Equinor has refused to comment on the media report.
A company spokesman, has been quoted by the publication, as saying: “As usual we don’t comment on rumours and speculation.”
Located nearly 83km off the Irish northwest coast, the Corrib gas project had been producing since late 2015. Its peak production was achieved in 2016 at 350 million standard cubic feet per day (MM scf/d) of gas, which is 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
The offshore field, which is contained in water depths of around 350m, meets a significant volume of the natural gas requirements of Ireland.
The Corrib gas project is operated by Canada-based Vermilion Energy, which has a 20% stake.
Vermilion Energy had replaced Royal Dutch Shell as the operator of the offshore gas field in 2018. This was after the latter sold its 45% stake to Nephin Energy (NEHL), a subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), for up to $1.3bn.
Development of the Corrib gas project was done through the drilling of six subsea wells. Gas produced from the field is sent via an 83km pipeline to an onshore gas processing terminal and then to the Irish gas grid through the Bord Gais Eireann linkline.
In January, Equinor agreed to sell its stakes in the Bakken field in North Dakota and Montana in the US to Grayson Mill Energy for a total consideration of around $900m.
