Norway-based oil and gas company Equinor has signed an agreement with SLB and the Subsea Integration Alliance to initiate exploratory efforts at the Wisting field in Norway and the Bay Du Nord field in Canada.  

Signed in Stavanger, Norway, the agreement facilitates early information exchange, technological innovation and collaborative advantages essential for making subsea projects economically feasible. 

The collaboration will immediately commence with early joint concept studies for the Wisting and Bay Du Nord projects.  

Should an FID be made, the agreement stipulates that the EPCI work would be directly awarded to the partners.  

The Bay du Nord project, located in the Flemish Pass basin off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, is a series of oil discoveries made by Equinor since 2013.  

The development plan includes a floating production unit for storage and offshore offloading, which will also enable tie-backs to nearby discoveries and future prospects. 

However, in May 2023, Equinor and its partner BP postponed the Bay du Nord development for up to three years due to market shifts and rising costs.  

The Wisting discovery, managed by Equinor during development and operations, is situated in the Barents Sea's Hoop area.  

Despite postponing the investment decision initially set for December 2022, the project's maturation aims for a conclusive investment decision by the end of 2026.  

This delay was attributed to global inflation and energy market challenges. 

Equinor senior vice-president for project development Trond Bokn said: “Equinor is working hard to improve and mature the Wisting and Bay du Nord projects. Selecting the supplier at this early stage is a new way of approaching project development for us, and a vote of confidence to Subsea Integration Alliance. We look forward to develop concepts together, in a process with full visibility on profitability, and joint efforts to make these challenging projects sanctionable.”