Norway-based Equinor says it has reached an agreement for Shell to buy a 30 per cent stake in the proposed Bay du Nord oil project off the coast of Newfoundland.
Equinor says it will retain a 70 per cent operating interest in the project, which would be the first deepwater oil development in Canada.
The news comes about three months after British oil giant BP announced it had signed a deal to sell its 37.2 per cent interest in the project.
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Equinor is expected to decide whether to proceed with the $14-billion Bay du Nord development early next year.
In a news release, Equinor executive Philippe Mathieu says the new partnership with Shell strengthens the project as it moves toward that final investment decision.
Bay du Nord would be in waters about 500 kilometres east of St. John’s, N.L., farther away from shore than any other offshore oil project on the globe.
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