Partnering to develop challenging discoveries

The companies aim to lower development costs by pooling opportunities across their portfolios and developing common solutions.

Rhea-AI Summary

Aker BP (AKRBF, AKRBY) and Equinor have entered a collaboration to develop tight reservoirs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. These reservoirs allow oil and gas to flow only slowly through rock.

The companies aim to make more discoveries profitable through shared technology development, standardisation and greater scale. They will contribute opportunities from their portfolios, with joint steering and working groups overseeing the collaboration. Aker BP says work starts immediately.

Positive

• Minor pointCollaboration with Equinor pools portfolio opportunities for technology development and standardisation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
• Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Joint development plans aim to make more discoveries profitable and increase oil and gas recovery.

Negative

• None.

Key Figures

Mapped tight-reservoir recoverable resource potential: around 2.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent Discoveries without a development decision: approximately 90 discoveries

Mapped tight-reservoir recoverable resource potential

around 2.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent

Norwegian Continental Shelf

Discoveries without a development decision

approximately 90 discoveries

Many are located in tight reservoirs

Key Terms

tight reservoirs, permeability, well stimulation

3 terms

tight reservoirs technical

"Significant volumes of oil and gas remain in tight reservoirs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf."

Sedimentary rock layers that contain oil or natural gas but have very low permeability and often low porosity, so hydrocarbons cannot flow to a wellbore at economic rates without intensive stimulation. Producing tight reservoirs typically requires technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or other stimulation and enhanced-recovery methods) to create pathways for the hydrocarbons; compared with conventional reservoirs, they generally involve higher drilling and completion costs and different decline profiles.

permeability technical

"Tight reservoirs have low permeability, meaning that oil and gas flow very slowly through the rock."

Permeability measures how easily a substance—typically a drug, molecule or fluid—passes through a barrier such as a cell membrane, the blood–brain barrier, skin or an industrial material; think of it like how quickly water soaks through a sponge versus being blocked by plastic. For investors, permeability matters because it shapes a drug’s absorption, ability to reach its target, safety profile and manufacturing needs, which in turn affect clinical success, development costs, regulatory approval and market potential.

well stimulation technical

"The collaboration also includes resource maturation and well stimulation solutions."

Operations performed on an oil or gas well to increase the flow of hydrocarbons from the rock into the wellbore by changing the properties of the reservoir near the well. Techniques include hydraulic fracturing (pumping fluids at high pressure to create and prop open fractures), acidizing (injecting acid to dissolve rock and unclog pore space), and other chemical or mechanical treatments that increase permeability; well stimulation is distinct from drilling or routine maintenance workovers because its primary purpose is to enhance production rather than to deepen or repair the well.

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LYSAKER, Norway, Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Equinor and Aker BP enter into a strategic collaboration on tight reservoirs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Through technology development, standardisation and greater scale, the companies aim to enable the profitable development of more discoveries and increase oil and gas recovery.

Significant volumes of oil and gas remain in tight reservoirs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has estimated a recoverable resource potential of around 2.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent in mapped tight reservoirs, comparable in size to the expected recoverable resources of the Johan Sverdrup field. Many of the approximately 90 discoveries that have yet to receive a development decision are located in such reservoirs.

Tight reservoirs have low permeability, meaning that oil and gas flow very slowly through the rock. Using conventional methods, only a limited share of the resources can be recovered, and many discoveries are too costly to develop on a standalone basis. The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has therefore encouraged companies to work together.

"By taking a portfolio-wide approach and developing common solutions, we can reduce costs and accelerate technology development. This can make more of these discoveries commercially viable. The benefits will be shared by licence owners and society alike," says Kjetil Hove, Executive Vice President for Exploration & Production Norway at Equinor.

The collaboration covers prospects, discoveries and projects across the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The companies will contribute relevant opportunities from their respective portfolios and jointly identify where technology development, standardisation and exchange of experience can create the greatest value. The collaboration also includes resource maturation and well stimulation solutions. The ambition is to establish a sufficient and predictable activity level to support a competitive value chain, with the expertise and supplier capacity required to develop more tight reservoir discoveries.

The collaboration will be governed through a joint steering structure and multidisciplinary working groups comprising representatives from both companies.

"Scale is the key. By considering opportunities across both portfolios, we can create the basis for increased activity, faster learning and lower costs. Together, we can develop solutions more quickly and deploy them at a larger scale. We are starting this work immediately," says Karl Johnny Hersvik, Chief Executive Officer of Aker BP.

Contacts
Tore Dammann Langballe, VP Communications, tel.: +47 907 77 841
Kjetil Bakken, Head of Investor Relations, tel.: +47 918 89 889

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SOURCE Aker BP ASA

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

What is Aker BP's tight-reservoir collaboration with Equinor intended to achieve?

The companies aim to make more tight-reservoir discoveries commercially viable and increase oil and gas recovery. Their approach combines opportunities across both portfolios with technology development, standardisation and shared experience.

What technical work does the Aker BP and Equinor collaboration include?

The collaboration includes resource maturation and well stimulation solutions, alongside technology development and standardisation. Its ambition is to establish sufficient, predictable activity to support the expertise and supplier capacity needed to develop more tight-reservoir discoveries.