Statoil (STO) Awards Twin EPC Contracts To Aker Solutions

Statoil (OL:STL) ASA (NYSE:STO) awarded twin contracts on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) to Aker Solutions for a total of NOK 1.5-2 billion.

The awards are related to EPC contracts for the delivery of subsea production systems and services for the Troll Phase 3 project in the North Sea and the Askeladd project in the Barents Sea, respectively. Installation and commissioning support services are also included in the contract.

Located in water depth of about 250 meters, about 40 kilometers from the existing Snøhvit development and about 140 kilometers north-west of Hammerfest, the Askeladd field, is projected to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2020.

Askeladd is part of the plan for development and operation (PDO) for Snøhvit partnership. The government agreed with the partners not to submit a new plan PDO for the approval of the project. However, an investment decision for Askeladd by the partnership is planned for March 2018. The contract award is subject to the partnership’s investment decision.

Statoil, the operator of Snohvit, has a stake of 36.79%. Other partners include Petoro, Total SA (NYSE:TOT) , Engie E&P Norge AS and DEA Norge AS holding 30%, 18.4%, 12% and 2.81%, respectively.

Troll 3 is located about 60 kilometers west of Sognefjorden, in water depth of about 330 meters and some 25 kilometers north-west of the Troll A platform. Troll field is the most productive field on the NCS and Troll Phase 3 development comprises large gas reserves in the western part of the Troll field. Troll Phase 3 is expected to be commissioned in the second quarter of 2021.

The Troll partnership intends to make an investment decision and submit the PDO in the third quarter of 2018. The contract award is subject to the partnership’s investment decision and government approval of the PDO.

Statoil also operates the Troll field with an interest of 30.58%. Other partners include Petoro, Norske Shell (LON:RDSa), Total and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) holding 56%, 8.10%, 3.69% and 1.62%, respectively.

The contracts awarded for Troll 3 and Askeladd are part of the contractual framework signed between Statoil and several suppliers within the subsea segment in 2017, in a process which is similar to contracts for the Johan Castberg and Snorre Expansion projects.

Price Performance

Statoil’s shares have gained 36.9% compared with the industry’s rally of 22.8% in the last six months.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Statoil flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Another top-ranked player in the energy sector is Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Headquartered at Irving, TX, Pioneer Natural Resources Company is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 67.62% over the preceding four quarters.

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