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Equinor ASA EQNR, a Norwegian integrated energy firm, has taken a major step toward the development of its Bay du Nord oil project in Canada. The company has awarded pre-FEED (pre-Front End Engineering and Design) study contracts to two firms — BW Offshore and Altera Infrastructure — for a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel that will be deployed for the Bay du Nord oil project. The Bay du Nord discovery made by Equinor is anticipated to hold around 300 million barrels of high-quality, light oil.
Details of the Bay du Nord Discovery
The project involves several offshore oil discoveries in the Flemish Pass basin. It is located approximately 500 kilometers toward the northeast of St. John’s offshore Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil-producing regions are known to emit lower greenhouse gases than other regions in Canada’s oil and gas industry.
The Bay du Nord project is one of the first oil developments to have been approved by the Canadian government with a legally binding requirement of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
The first discovery in Bay du Nord was made by Equinor in 2013. This was followed by several other discoveries in 2014, 2016 and 2020. Equinor mentioned that it plans to develop this oil discovery by deploying an FPSO that can be used suitably to tie-back nearby discoveries and new prospects.
The Bay du Nord discovery is located in water depths of approximately 1,170 meters. The discoveries made later, namely Cappahayden and Cambriol, lie in water depths of 650 meters in an adjacent exploration license. These discoveries are viewed as potential tie-ins for the Bay du Nord project.
EQNR Faces Setbacks Over Increasing Project Cost
Equinor and its partner BP stalled the project for three years (in 2023) following a rise in costs. This resulted in a setback that delayed the original timeline for the final investment decision on the project.
EQNR has mentioned that it will utilize this postponement to optimize various aspects of the project and continue to refine the project plan toward development. The company shall continue to work closely with partners and stakeholders to optimize the project and improve its cost-efficiency and overall competitiveness.
EQNR Partners With BW Offshore and Altera Infrastructure
BW Offshore has mentioned that the pre-FEED study contract awarded by Equinor highlights their strong relationship, which was built through prior collaborations on harsh environment projects. The Bay du Nord FPSO for Equinor follows BW Offshore’s successful track record of delivering vessels specifically designed for challenging and harsh environments.