Each week, Offshore Technology’s writers select a deal that illustrates the themes driving change in our sector. The deal may not always be the largest in value, or the highest profile. But we select it because of what it tells us about where the leading companies are focusing their efforts, and why. We pick apart the deal itself, and the industry theme behind it. This new, thematic deal coverage is driven by our underlying Disruptor data which tracks all major deals, patents, company filings, hiring patterns and social media buzz across our sectors.
The deal
Vår Energi has announced the full purchase of Feistein CCS for an undisclosed amount.
The parties
Vår Energi is a Norwegian oil and gas producer and explorer that operates across the Norwegian Continental Shelf, over which Norway has exclusive rights. In the second quarter of 2023, the company averaged 202,000 barrels of oil equivalent produced per day.
Feistein CCS is a Scandinavian large-scale carbon capture and storage solutions start-up. It aims to store CO₂ emissions created by oil and gas companies in aquifers found in the North Sea. Aquifers are subsea rock formations that hold groundwater. Gas can be injected into the aquifer, displacing the water and allowing for storage of otherwise polluting emissions.
The implications
The purchase will aid Vår in its stated aim of reducing emissions from its operations by 50% before 2030. The company aims to achieve this with heavy investment in carbon capture and storage.
Executive vice-president, technology, drilling & subsurface at Vår Energi, Ingrid Sølvberg, said: “Technological development and investments in low-emission solutions is needed to support the pathway to net zero, and the acquisition of Feistein CCS accelerates our position and competence on CO₂ storage.”
A pure play company, Vår Energi’s sole focus is to deliver oil and gas at the lowest cost possible, and Sølvberg maintained that decarbonisation activities are a major part in ensuring that.
This will not be the first CCS investment that Vår has made. In December 2021, the company partnered with fellow Norwegian energy companies Equinor and Horisont to jointly develop a CCS project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Project Polaris, in which Vår holds a 30% stake, will capture two million tonnes of CO₂ per year upon its expected completion in 2025. Furthermore, it will have a CO₂ storage capacity of more than 100 million tonnes, which it will allow third parties to store CO₂ in on a ‘storage as a service’ basis.
In alignment with Feistein’s expertise, the Polaris project will store carbon in subsea saline aquifers. This purchase then may aid the decarbonisation of not one but three major oil and gas producers in Norway.
