Norwegian producer Equinor has signed an agreement with Aker BP to sell its 77.8% operated interest in the King Lear discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) for a total of $250mn, it said October 15. The remaining 22.2% stake is retained by Total. 

The gas and condensate deposit was found 30 years ago in the Ekofisk area in blocks PL 146 and PL 333 with recoverable resources of 77mn barrels of oil equivalent.

"We are divesting a low-priority asset in our NCS portfolio to a buyer who sees higher value. By doing so we unlock capital for investment in projects that offer higher returns,” Equinor said.

Aker BP CEO Johnny Hersvik though said that King Lear was "one of the largest undeveloped discoveries on the Norwegian continental chelf and represents an excellent opportunity for Aker BP." He said it could be developed as a satellite to its existing Ula field, providing significant additional volumes of injection gas to support oil recovery from Ula. "When including the increased oil recovery potential from Ula, Aker BP estimates a total resource addition of more than 100 mmboe net to the company," the buyer said.