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Equinor (EQNR) Plans to Divest Onshore Assets in Bakken Shale

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Equinor ASA (EQNR - Free Report) plans to divest its onshore assets in the prolific Bakken shale field of the United States, per Dagens Naeringsliv — a Norwegian newspaper. However, a final decision over the divestment is yet to be made.

Since 2020, the company has been reviewing its portfolio of assets, which include its holdings in the United States, per Reuters. Notably, for Equinor’s maximum benefit, the integrated oil major is focusing on choosing between whether to remain the operator of the Bakken field or divest it.

Notably, during the third quarter of 2020, Equinor wrote off $2.9 billion of assets that comprise the $1.4 billion in the United States, after lowering its long-term price estimates of oil and natural gas. Most likely, the decision reflects Equinor’s financial instability as the company had to bear the brunt of the coronavirus-induced oil price slump.

Notably, several regions throughout the world are still suffering from the lingering pandemic impact, which even induced some of the energy businesses to shift to cleaner fuels and low-carbon energy.

Importantly, in the incoming Biden administration, the company hopes that its stakes in the Marcellus Shale will open new possibilities and will help increase business profitability, added the source.

Company Profile & Price Performance

Headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, Equinor is one of the leading integrated energy companies in the world.

The stock has gained 39.1%  in the past three months.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Equinor currently has a Zack Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the energy space are Plains Group Holdings LP (PAGP - Free Report) , Sunoco LP (SUN - Free Report) and Altus Midstream Company (ALTM - Free Report) , each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Plains Group is expected to see earnings growth of 194.8% in 2021, while Sunoco is likely to see an earnings growth of 41.8% in 2021.

Altus Midstream’s sales for 2021 are anticipated to rise 364.4% year over year.

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