Equinor Awards Pre-FEED Contracts for Bay du Nord FPSO in Canada

Equinor ASA EQNR, a Norwegian integrated energy firm, has taken a major step toward the development of its Bay du Nord oil project in Canada. The company has awarded pre-FEED (pre-Front End Engineering and Design) study contracts to two firms — BW Offshore and Altera Infrastructure — for a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel that will be deployed for the Bay du Nord oil project. The Bay du Nord discovery made by Equinor is anticipated to hold around 300 million barrels of high-quality, light oil.Details of the Bay du Nord DiscoveryThe project involves several offshore oil discoveries in the Flemish Pass basin. It is located approximately 500 kilometers toward the northeast of St. John’s offshore Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil-producing regions are known to emit lower greenhouse gases than other regions in Canada’s oil and gas industry.The Bay du Nord project is one of the first oil developments to have been approved by the Canadian government with a legally binding requirement of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.The first discovery in Bay du Nord was made by Equinor in 2013. This was followed by several other discoveries in 2014, 2016 and 2020. Equinor mentioned that it plans to develop this oil discovery by deploying an FPSO that can be used suitably to tie-back nearby discoveries and new prospects.The Bay du Nord discovery is located in water depths of approximately 1,170 meters. The discoveries made later, namely Cappahayden and Cambriol, lie in water depths of 650 meters in an adjacent exploration license. These discoveries are viewed as potential tie-ins for the Bay du Nord project.EQNR Faces Setbacks Over Increasing Project CostEquinor and its partner BP stalled the project for three years (in 2023) following a rise in costs. This resulted in a setback that delayed the original timeline for the final investment decision on the project.EQNR has mentioned that it will utilize this postponement to optimize various aspects of the project and continue to refine the project plan toward development. The company shall continue to work closely with partners and stakeholders to optimize the project and improve its cost-efficiency and overall competitiveness.EQNR Partners With BW Offshore and Altera InfrastructureBW Offshore has mentioned that the pre-FEED study contract awarded by Equinor highlights their strong relationship, which was built through prior collaborations on harsh environment projects. The Bay du Nord FPSO for Equinor follows BW Offshore’s successful track record of delivering vessels specifically designed for challenging and harsh environments.Altera Infrastructure also mentioned that the award of a pre-FEED study contract for the Bay du Nord FPSO aligns with its extensive experience in developing vessels suited for harsh environments as Bay du Nord faces harsh deepwater conditions.EQNR’s Zacks Rank and Other Key PicksEQNR currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).Some other top-ranked stocks from the energy sector are Sunoco LP SUN, Matador Resources MTDR and Cheniere Energy, Inc. LNG. Sunoco currently sports a Zacks Rank #1, while Matador Resources and Cheniere Energy carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Sunoco LP is one of the largest distributors of motor fuel in the United States. The partnership distributes fuel to independent dealers, commercial customers, convenience stores and distributors. Its current distribution yield is greater than that of the industry's composite stocks, providing unitholders with consistent returns.Matador Resources is a leading U.S.-based exploration and production firm. The company has consistently exceeded production expectations, demonstrating operational efficiency and robust growth. The company’s production efficiency, combined with the favorable oil price environment, is expected to positively impact its bottom line.Cheniere Energy is involved in LNG-related businesses, which include LNG terminals and natural gas marketing. The company has achieved a milestone with the first production from the first LNG train of its Corpus Christi Stage 3 Liquefaction Project. The project, which includes seven midscale LNG trains, aims to expand the production capacity of the Corpus Christi Liquefaction facility. This expansion is expected to enhance Cheniere's position in the rapidly growing global LNG market, enabling it to meet the rising demand for LNG, both in the United States and internationally.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sunoco LP (SUN): Free Stock Analysis Report Cheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG): Free Stock Analysis Report Matador Resources Company (MTDR): Free Stock Analysis Report Equinor ASA (EQNR): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks