An illustration of the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) planned for Equinor's Bay du Nord project. Credit: Equinor
Equinor has acquired bp’s stake in the Bay du Nord offshore oil project, taking full ownership of one of Canada’s largest undeveloped offshore discoveries as it advances the project toward a final investment decision targeted for early 2027.
The transaction, which aligns with bp’s ongoing portfolio simplification strategy, gives Equinor greater flexibility as it continues engineering and development work on the project. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Over the past few years, we have strengthened Bay du Nord by improving the business case and reducing key risks,” said Philippe Mathieu, Equinor’s executive vice president for Exploration and Production International. “This transaction reflects our confidence in the project as we continue maturing it towards a final investment decision. We will seek opportunities to bring in partners as part of the project’s further development.”
Located in the Flemish Pass Basin about 500 kilometers east of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Bay du Nord is expected to be developed using a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel connected to subsea wells. The development also provides opportunities to tie in additional nearby discoveries across the basin over time.
The project has entered the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase, with Equinor focusing on improving capital efficiency, refining execution plans and further reducing project risks ahead of a final investment decision.
Equinor said continued engagement with the provincial and federal governments has helped move the project through key development milestones and will remain important as work progresses.
Bay du Nord was discovered in 2013, with the nearby Cambriol discovery following in 2020. The initial development phase is expected to recover more than 400 million barrels of oil, with future tieback opportunities from the Cappahayden, Harpoon and Baccalieu discoveries.
The project is estimated to require approximately CAD $14 billion in investment. If sanctioned in 2027, first oil is expected in 2031.
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