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Aker BP has applied to the Norwegian Environment Agency for approval to have a second go at drilling its high-profile Rondeslottet exploration prospect in block 6405/7 in the Norwegian Sea. The environment agency, in a statement yesterday (Tuesday), confirmed that it has received an application from the Norwegian independent to drill exploration well 6405/7-4. The well is expected to be spudded in January 2025 at the earliest and has a forecast duration of around 55 days. The new well will be drilled with the Scarabeo 8 around 500 metres east of original well 6405/7-2S/6405/7-3S, which was drilled in the summer of 2023 but was plugged back before reaching the reservoir section after operational problems (NSR740/10). The operator has described Rondeslottet as essentially an appraisal of the Ellida discovery that was made by then-Statoil (now Equinor) in 2003 but was seen as having uncertain commercial prospects because of poor production properties.
The UK Government has pledged to make up to £21.7 billion ($28.4 billion) available over 25 years to be allocated between the HyNet North West and East Coast CCUS clusters as it bids to kick-start investment in the carbon capture, storage and utilisation and hydrogen sectors.The government, in a statement on 4 October, said that the projects enabled by its funding are expected to create 4,000 new jobs, support important UK industries and help remove more than 8.5 million tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide emissions. It added that the government funding is expected to attract £8 billion of private investment into Merseyside and Teesside in northwest and northeast England where the two track one clusters are located. Prime Minister Keir Starmer argued that by committing to 25 years of funding the government was giving industry the certainty it needs to invest in CCUS development. The funding announcement was welcomed by backers of the two clusters.
Equinor has acquired a 9.8% stake in Ørsted worth around $2.5 billion at current market prices, making it the second biggest shareholder in the Danish state-controlled renewable energy producer. The Norwegian company says that subject to regulatory approvals it aims to boost its interest in Ørsted to 10%, but has no current plans to increase it beyond that level. The company added that it is supportive of Ørsted’s strategy and management and has no plans to seek board representation in the Danish company. “Equinor has a long-term perspective and will be a supportive owner in Ørsted. This is a counter-cyclical investment in a leading developer and a premium portfolio of operating offshore wind assets,” said CEO Anders Opedal. “The exposure to producing assets complements Equinor’s operated offshore wind portfolio of large projects under development”, he added. Ørsted has net renewable generation capacity of around 10.4 GW and aims to achieve a gross capacity of around 35-38 GW by 2030.
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