Statoil Contracts HHI for $1.1B

Norwegian oil and gas major Statoil ASA ( STO - Analyst Report ) awarded South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) a $1.1 billion contract to set up a topside facility on the Aasta Hansteen spar hull that is being built by the South Korean company.

Per the order from Statoil, the world’s top shipbuilder - Hyundai Heavy - is entitled to build the 21,000-ton topside facility that is capable of generating 23 million cubic meters of oil and gas a day by March 2016. It will be installed in the Aasta Hansteen field, 300 kilometers (186 miles) off the northwest coast of Norway.

Upon completion, which is expected in the second half of 2015, this partly submerged cylindrical offshore facility will be able to pile up 160,000 barrels of gas condensate. Earlier, Hyundai also secured an $800 million order from Statoil for building the spar hull some 300 kilometers (186 miles) off the northwest coast of Norway.

Formerly known as Luva, the Aasta Hansteen gas field is situated on 6706/12 and 6707/10 blocks in the Norwegian zone of the North Sea. Statoil holds a 75% interest in the field and acts as the operator. However, OMV owns 15% and the U.S. energy company ConocoPhillips ( COP - Analyst Report ) holds the remaining 10% stake.

Statoil has operations in all major hydrocarbon-producing regions of the world, with an emphasis on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). We believe the company’s growing upstream presence in the emerging basins of the Caspian Sea, West Africa and the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico will enable Statoil to sustain its production growth for the next few years.

Last month, Statoil purchased a 25% participating interest from Brazilian metals and mining firm Vale SA ( VALE - Analyst Report ) in BM-ES-22A in the Espirito Santo Basin, offshore Brazil. Block BM-ES-22A is operated by Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras ( PBR - Analyst Report ) with equity of 75%, while Vale holds the remaining 25% stake.

Statoil holds a Zacks Rank #3, which is equivalent to a Hold rating for a period of one to three months.