DNO, Equinor set to swap stakes in multiple fields offshore Norway

DNO and Equinor have agreed to exchange interests in various field discoveries offshore Norway.

Pending government approvals, Equinor will transfer to DNO:

1. 19% interest in the Atlantis Field;
2. 10% in Afrodite; and
3. Two gas-condensate discoveries close to the Kvitebjørn Field, with Equinor remaining operator in all three cases.

In return, Equinor will receive DNO’s interests in the Røver, Mistral, Tyrihans East and Bergknapp fields and the Sjørøver exploration license, most of which Equinor currently operates.

DNO already has a 19% ownership position in Kvitebjørn in the North Sea and 30% in the nearby Carmen discovery, and it views the region as a core new area.

According to the company, Atlantis is one of Norway’s largest undeveloped offshore discoveries, with the partners expecting to take FID on the development early next year. Production, via a planned tieback to the Kvitebjørn platform, could start in late 2029, delivering 8,000 boe/d net at peak to DNO.

Afrodite and Carmen are also probable tiebacks to Kvitebjørn, with appraisal drilling planned on both discoveries later in 2026.

Earlier this year, ORLEN Upstream Norway agreed to acquire a 25% stake from Vår Energi, which contains Afrodite.

ORLEN said the development would serve as a testing ground for new methods for producing unconventional resources on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. These include the larger, undeveloped gas discovery Victoria, in which ORLEN also has an interest.

Afrodite, proven in 2008, has not been developed until now due to its HP/HT setting, the company explained. The planned appraisal well will help firm up reserves (currently estimated at about 7.5 Bcm recoverable), and it will also assess the potential for production using stimulation technologies.