Equinor Sells Its Largest International Asset as it “High-Grades” Portfolio

Norway’s Equinor entered into an agreement to sell its interest in Brazil’s Peregrino field. Operating for nearly 15 years it was the company’s largest international asset while the move is part of a strategy to hone the company’s portfolio.

PRIO, Brazil’s largest independent oil and gas company, and already a minority partner in the project will pay $3.35 billion and a maximum of $150 million in interest to acquire Equinor’s 60 percent interest in the project. Equinor is also the operator of the project. PRION in 2024 acquired a 40 percent position from China’s SPEP Energy Hong Kong and Sinochem International Oil for $1.915 million.

Discovered in 1994, the Peregrino field is just over 50 miles off the coast in the Campos Basin. Equinor has been operating in the field since 2009 with the first oil delivered in 2011. It reports that around 300 million barrels of oil have been produced while PRIO reported as of January 2024 independent estimates set the field’s future resources at 338 million barrels and a potential abandonment date forecast for after 2037. 

“This deal is part of Equinor's ongoing effort to high-grade its international portfolio through asset divestments and acquisitions,” said Philippe Mathieu, Executive Vice President for Exploration and Production International at Equinor. “With this transaction, we realize value from a long-standing asset in our Brazil portfolio.”

Peregrino is a heavy oil field and consists of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) platform, supported by three fixed platforms. Equinor reports its current share of production from Peregrino was around 55,000 barrels per day.

PRIO in December cited plans to increase production by about 35,000 barrels per day. It also cited the potential to optimize logistics with its other operations in the region. The company said it would look to combine cargo loads from other fields it operates to optimize the operation.

Equinor highlights that it is not abandoning Brazil. It says it will focus on starting up the Bacalhau field and continue progressing with the Raia gas project. With these two operated projects and its partnership in Roncador, Equinor projects its equity production in Brazil will be close to 200,000 barrels per day by 2030.