Norway’s Equinor has finalized a deal with Shell to acquire a 30% stake in the proposed Bay du Nord oil project located off the coast of Newfoundland. Equinor will maintain a 70% operating interest in this project, which is poised to become Canada’s inaugural deepwater oil development.
This agreement follows British oil company BP’s announcement about three months ago to divest its 37.2% interest in the same project. Equinor is set to make a decision early next year on whether to proceed with the $14 billion Bay du Nord development.
Philippe Mathieu, an executive at Equinor, expressed in a press release that the collaboration with Shell fortifies the project as it nears the final investment decision. Bay du Nord is situated approximately 500 kilometers east of St. John’s, N.L., making it the farthest offshore oil project from the shoreline globally.