Energy giant Equinor has signed an agreement to acquire an 11.8% interest in the Halten East Unit from Sval Energi, raising its total ownership to 69.5%.

The Halten East development in the Norwegian Sea's Kristin-Åsgard area is a subsea project that is expected to utilise existing infrastructure and processing capacity at Åsgard B.

Following its approval in May 2022, Halten East is on course to commence production in 2025.

The project is being developed with an estimated investment of Nkr9bn. The Halten East Unit, which includes six gas discoveries and three prospects, has estimated recoverable reserves of 100 million barrels of oil equivalents.

Notably, around 60% of these reserves are gas, which will be exported to Europe through the Kårstø processing plant.

Equinor Exploration and Production North senior vice-president Grete Birgitte Haaland said: “Halten East is an important project with strong profitability and low emissions, in a core area for Equinor. The transaction is in line with our strategy of optimising our portfolio on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to ensure long-term value creation.”

The development is planned in two phases, with the first involving the drilling of six wells across five discoveries between 2024 and 2025.

The second phase, slated for 2029, will include a sidetrack to one discovery and the potential drilling of three additional wells for the prospects.

The Halten East Unit encompasses the Gamma, Harepus, Flyndretind, Nona, Sigrid and Natalia discoveries.

After processing at Åsgard B, gas and oil/condensate will be transported to Åsgard C for storage and subsequent export by tankers.

The produced gas will then be sent through the Åsgard Transport gas pipeline to Kårstø, and from there, to European markets.