Equinor and Barra Energia (“Barra”) have signed an agreement for Equinor to acquire Barra’s 10% interest in the BM-S-8 licence in Brazil’s Santos basin. This transaction will enable Equinor and its partners to fully align interests across the two licences for the Carcará area.

In early June Equinor, ExxonMobil and Galp completed transactions in BM-S-8 to start aligning equity interests with those the three partners hold in the adjacent Carcará North block. BM-S-8 and Carcará North together comprise the Carcará area, which contains approximately 2 billion recoverable barrels of oil equivalent. Equinor is the operator of both blocks and aims to develop the unitised field with the ambition to deliver first oil between 2023 and 2024.

The total consideration for Barra’s 10% interest is USD 379 million, the same as for Equinor’s earlier transaction in BM-S-8 with Queiroz Galvão Exploração e Produção (QGEP) in July 2017. Closing is subject to customary conditions, including partner and government approval, and price adjustments in consideration of a reference date of July 2016. Upon closing, Equinor intends to sell down 3.5% to ExxonMobil and 3% to Galp, so fully aligning interests across BM-S-8 and Carcará North.

About Equinor

Equinor, is an international energy company with a proud history. Formerly Statoil, we are 20,000 committed colleagues developing oil, gas, wind and solar energy in more than 30 countries worldwide. We’re the largest operator in Norway, among the world’s largest offshore operators, and a growing force in renewables. Driven by our Nordic urge to explore beyond the horizon, and our dedication to safety, equality and sustainability, we’re building a global business on our values and the energy needs of the future.