Snohvit, the first hydrocarbon development in the Barents Sea according to Equinor, has been producing since 2007. The Snohvit Future project, approved 2023, involves onshore compression to ensure the flow of gas and electrification to curb emissions. Equinor expects the onshore compression component to be completed 2028. From 2030, Snovhit is expected to shift to electrified operation.
Trump, fresh from a state visit to the UK, warned that excessive taxation and regulatory hurdles have all but shut down new North Sea development. “There’s tremendous oil that hasn’t been found in the North Sea,” he said. “They essentially closed it by making it so highly taxed that no developer, no oil company, can go there.”
The agreement also includes installation support and life-of-field services, with options for additional equipment as projects progress. All subsea systems will be built and serviced in Brazil, underscoring both companies’ long-standing partnership and commitment to local content.
Seatrium Limited has announced the sale of its AmFELS Yard in Brownsville, Texas, to Karpower Valley LLC, an affiliate of Karpowership, for S$65 million. The divestment, executed through subsidiary Seatrium AmFELS, Inc., is part of the company’s strategy to streamline operations, boost capital efficiency, and unlock value from surplus assets.
Hungary imports about 5 million tons of crude oil from Russia annually via its state energy company MOL. It is one of two direct buyers of Russian crude in the EU. President Trump earlier this month called on the EU to step up pressure on Moscow by shunning any and all hydrocarbon imports, including LNG.
The upward pressure on prices was back, however, as European pressure on Russia increases, with reports over the weekend of Russian aircraft entering Estonian airspace and neutral airspace over the Baltic Sea, plus airstrikes on western Ukraine that were close to the border with Poland.
The publication cited LSEG data showing that Very Large Crude Carrier rates jumped to 12.5 million last week, which was the highest since March 2023. The rate increase resulted from increased demand for U.S. crude from Asian buyers that emerged during the summer. Since then, rates have eased somewhat to $12 million but remain elevated enough to sap appetite.
The unit will support an RDP contract with Ecopetrol signed in February 2025 to provide regasification and logistics services to bring 1.7 mcm (60 mcf) per day of gas into the Colombian market.
First oil is expected in Q2 2029 from the project, which will utilise an FPSO with a production capacity of 150,000 bopd.
Kuwait had a similar production capacity in the late 2000s, with capacity hitting the highest on record of 3.3 million bpd in 2010. Kuwait’s oil production capacity began to drop after 2010, but the OPEC heavyweight has launched a program in recent years to raise it.