OKEA announced that they will postpone all project sanction decisions, such as drilling or seismic programmes. They will further cancel sanctioned plans where possible and as agreed with Joint Venture partners. These measures will according to OKEA result in reductions to previously planned exploration expenditure of around 90 per cent for the rest of the year.
DNO announced a cut of 30 per cent budget cut for 2020, equal to USD 300 million of reductions. The company states that this is to shore up its balance sheet in the face of unprecedented market convulsions and plunging oil prices triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
This will affect both their activity in all the areas they operate, in the North Sea area they have 87 licenses offshore Norway and 12 licenses in the United Kingdom. DNO will keep their focus on key projects in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and suspend most discretionary drilling and capital projects across the company’s portfolio.
According to DNO, they have also initiated staff reductions, they have cancelled the first half 2020 dividend, discussed modalities for cost reductions with their suppliers and contractors, and frozen new ventures.
Total also announced the cut of 20-30 positions in Norway in January (pay-wall, Norwegian), this was confirmed today and is not related to the Covid-19.
TERJE SOLBAKK
