FSUOGM: Equinor finishes exit from Russia

Norway’s Equinor has completed its withdrawal from Russia’s oil industry with the sale of its entire holding in the Kharyaga oil project in the country’s far north.

Equinor announced in May it had transferred shares in four joint ventures in Eastern and Western Siberia to its state-owned partner Rosneft, while disclosing terms. It also said at the time it had signed an agreement to sell its 30% interest in the Kharyaga production-sharing agreement (PSA), operated by state-owned Zarubezhneft.

Equinor has been a partner at Zharyaga since 1996 and netted around 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from the project at the end of last year. In a statement on September 2, Equinor also said it had covered the decommissioning liabilities accrued and owed over the years of the project’s operation, while in compliance with Western sanctions.

The completion of the sale draws a line under a six-month process that began just after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, at which point Equinor said that its position in Russia had become “untenable.” It now has no more assets left in the country.

The departure has come at a significant cost, however, leading the company to book a $1.1bn impairment charge in its first-quarter results this year.

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