Equinor completes full Russian exit with final deal close

Equinor has completed a full exit from Russia with completion of a deal signed in May to leave the Kharyaga project, the company said in a release Sept. 2. The company held a 30% interest in the onshore Zarubezhneft-operated oil field, which lies in the Timan-Pechora basin in the Nenets Autonomous District, 60 km north of the Arctic Circle. Equinor had been a partner in the development since 1996.

Kharyaga produces about 29,000 b/d of oil. In 2018, Russia extended the production sharing agreement to 2031 (OGJ Online, July 25, 2018).

Equinor began the exit process in late February following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Since that time, the company stopped new investments into Russia, stopped trading oil and gas products from Russia, wrote down $1.08 billion in related assets, and transferred its participating interests in four Russian joint ventures to Rosneft (OGJ Online, Feb. 28, 2022; Mar. 15, 2022; May 25, 2022)

In addition to the Kharyaga project, Equinor had been involved in the AngaraOil LLC licenses, Domanik formation pilot project, and North-Komsomolskoye onshore discovery, in partnership with Rosneft.

After 30 years in Russia, Equinor has now exited all joint ventures in the country—all completed in accordance with Norwegian and EU sanctions legislation related to Russia, the company said.

TotalEnergies, another previous partner in the project, finalized the sale of its 20% interest in Kharyaga to state-controlled operator Zarubezhneft on Aug. 3, 2022. Nenets Oil Co. is the remaining partner.