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Pandion Energy recognises that climate change is of critical importance to the future of the planet and supports the goal of the Paris Agreement to achieve a carbon neutral global economy.

The commitment to carbon neutrality has been achieved initially by offsetting CO2 emissions through programmes that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Despite the Company’s carbon intensity per produced barrel being one of the lowest in the global E&P industry – ranging from 1.2 – 3.4 CO2e/boe for its net production – Pandion Energy recognises the importance of minimising its carbon impact as swiftly as possible.

Pandion Energy’s approach to maintaining its low carbon impact position is set out in its Strategy to Net Zero Carbon document and includes:

• Pursuing exploration and appraisal opportunities only in areas with existing or plausible future access to renewable energy sources
• Incorporating GHG emissions and the potential for future carbon reduction as a new investment criterion for Development and Production assets
• Incorporating the cost of carbon in evaluating new investments

Pandion Energy aims to align our disclosures with the recommendations set forth by Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) from 2021.

CEO of Pandion Energy, Jan Christian Ellefsen says:

A carbon light strategy has always been an imperative for Pandion Energy and our ongoing commitment to carbon neutrality alongside our new investment criteria represents a further positive step in our ambition to achieve Net Zero.

“As the rest of the world starts to move closer to Norway’s leading position on carbon emission reduction, we will continue our work to minimise our footprint and support other players in the sector to do the same.

We also see that further improvements to sharing of environmental data from operators to partners in all licences on the NCS, is an important step to reduce the industry’s climate footprint. Pandion Energy will be working actively towards a common industry standard for sharing and reporting on such data.”

Download Pandion Energy’s full Net Zero Strategy statement.

The APA award was announced by the Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Tina Bru on Tuesday 19 January. For more information about the APA 2020 Licensing Round see Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s website.

Pandion Energy has been awarded the following licenses:

• License PL 1108 in block 35/9 is located on the Måløy slope, west of the Gjøa field and north-east of the Nova field. Pandion Energy has considerable experience in this area, including the Duva field development project. Pandion Energy has been offered a 30 percent participating interest in PL 1108
• License PL 1119 in blocks 6406/2,3,5 & 6 is located in the central part of the Halten Terrace, adjacent to the Tyrihans Sør, Trestakk and the Lavrans fields, as well as multiple discoveries. Pandion Energy has been offered a 20 percent participating interest in PL 1119.
• License PL 263 F is additional acreage to PL 263 D/E located in the Norwegian Sea. The PL263 D/E license announced a minor gas discovery in exploration well 6407/1-8 S in November 2020. Pandion Energy holds a 20 percent interest in the license.
• License PL 820 SB is additional acreage to PL 820 S, located in the central part of the North Sea, northwest of the Balder and Ringhorne fields. In March 2020, the partnership announced the discovery of oil and gas in exploration well 25/8-19 S, including two sidetracks. Pandion Energy holds a 12.5 percent interest in PL820 S of which a 2,5 percent interest was acquired in December 2020 and is pending completion.
• License PL 891 B is additional acreage to PL 891, located in the central part of the Norwegian Sea, north of Heidrun. In December 2020, the partnership announced a significant oil discovery in exploration well 6507/5-10 S. Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 75 to 200 million barrels oil equivalent. Pandion energy holds a 20 percent interest in the license.

VP Exploration and Appraisal of Pandion Energy, Bente Flakstad Vold comments:

“In addition to expanding our exploration portfolio we have secured strategically important acreage surrounding the discoveries Pandion has taken part in during the past year, further strengthening our position in areas where we see additional upside potential.”

In March, Pandion Energy announced the results from exploration drilling in PL 820 S. Wells 25/8-19 S and 25/8-19 A proved hydrocarbons at five different intervals with the Iving discovery in the Skagerrak Formation being the most prominent with recoverable resources estimated to between 12 and 71 million barrels of oil equivalent. The operator, MOL Norge AS (40 percent), is together with partners Lundin Energy Norway AS (40 percent), Pandion Energy (10 percent before acquisition) and Wintershall DEA (10 percent before sale) planning an appraisal campaign in 2021. The license is located in blocks 25/7 & 8, north-northwest of the Balder and Ringhorne fields.

PL 617 contains the Eidsvoll prospect and is located in block 2/9, east-northeast of the Valhall & Hod fields where Pandion Energy holds a 10 percent interest. The operator, MOL Norge AS (40 percent), is together with partners OMV (Norge) AS (30 percent) and Wintershall DEA (30 percent before sale) planning to drill the Eidsvoll exploration well in 2021.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions for completion, including approval by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

Effective date for the transaction is 1 January 2021.

The wildcat well 6507/5-10 S is located about 23 kilometers north of the Heidrun field in the Haltenbank area, in the central part of the Norwegian Sea.

Preliminary estimates place the size of the discovery between 12 and 32 million standard cubic meters (Sm³) of recoverable oil equivalent, or about 75 to 200 million barrels oil equivalent.

The well encountered a total oil column of 270 metre in the Åre Formation and Grey Beds. Sandstone layers of 90 meters were encountered within the oil column with generally very good reservoir properties.

Pandion Energy, together with operator ConocoPhillips Scandinavia AS, will assess the results of the discovery together with other nearby prospects to determine the future appraisal and potential development solutions.

VP of Exploration and Appraisal at Pandion Energy, Bente Flakstad Vold, comments:

“We are proud to take part in the largest discovery in Norway this year. This illustrates the value creation potential in the team’s ability to make quick decisions based on a multidisciplinary work methodology. In light of the knowledge gathered from the discovery well, we see an exciting resource upside in both the discovery itself and other parts of the license. We now look forward to continuing our good cooperation with ConocoPhillips and contribute to realizing the full value potential in PL 891.”

Pandion Energy acquired its 20 per cent interest in the production license in July 2019 from operator ConocoPhillips, which holds the remaining 80 per cent.

CEO of Pandion Energy, Jan Christian Ellefsen, adds:

“The Slagugle discovery is a prime example of our exploration strategy targeting opportunities close to existing infrastructure with focus on prospects with material upsides. This is truly a great Christmas present and demonstrates the significant remaining resource potential on the NCS.”

The Slagugle well is the third discovery that Pandion Energy announces in 2020. In March, the company made an oil and gas discovery near the Balder field, in production license 820 S. The licensees are currently planning an appraisal campaign of this Iving discovery in 2021. In November, a minor gas discovery was announced in production license 263 D/E in the Norwegian Sea.

For further information see press release from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate: Oil discovery north of the Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea – 6507/5-10 S

• Pandion Energy submits Plan for development and operation of Hod
• Pandion Energy approves the Hod development project

The primary exploration target of the well was to prove hydrocarbons in reservoirs of Middle Jurassic age (the Garn and Ile Formations).

The well encountered approximately 83 meters of sandstones of moderate to very good reservoir properties in the Garn Formation. The well also penetrated a 9 meters gas column in sandstones of Late Cretaceous age of poor to moderate reservoir properties, approximately 4 meters in total. The reservoirs in the Garn and Ile Formations did not contain hydrocarbons.

Preliminary estimates indicate that the size of the discovery is between 0.5 and 1.6 million standard cubic metres (Sm3). The partnership will assess the discovery in conjunction with other discoveries and prospects nearby.

The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 3 518 meter below sea level and terminated in the Ile Formation of Middle Jurassic age.

For more information see full press release from the Operator at the NPD webpage.

PL 938 was awarded in the 2017 APA round and is operated by Neptune Energy Norge AS (60 per cent) with ConocoPhillips (20 per cent before swap) and Vår Energi AS (20 per cent) as partners. An exploration well is planned to be drilled in the license in 2021 or 2022.

PL 1047 is operated by Aker BP ASA (40 percent) with Concedo ASA (20 percent), ConocoPhillips (20 percent before swap) and Pandion Energy (20 percent before swap) as partners. The license is located in the North Sea, adjacent to the Martin Linge field.

CEO of Pandion Energy, Jan Christian Ellefsen, says in a comment:

“With this transaction we commit to our fourth exploration well in the Norwegian Sea, reflecting our optimistic view on the remaining resource potential in this prolific part of the Norwegian continental shelf. Together with ongoing and planned wells in PL 263 D & E (Appolonia), PL 891 (Slagugle) and PL 929 (Ofelia), we now have a portfolio of four exploration wells, all close to existing infrastructure.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions for completion, including approval by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

On 25 September, OKEA ASA announced an agreement with Neptune Energy Norge AS for the acquisition of a 30 per cent interest in PL 938. Neptune Energy Norge AS will retain a 30 per cent interest and remain operator of the license.

Total investments in the Hod development project are estimated to around USD 600 million and is expected to create around 5 000 man-years of employment during the execution phase, including ripple effects. The field is planned to be put on production during first quarter 2022. Recoverable reserves are estimated to around 40 million barrels of oil equivalents. Aker BP is the operator (90 per cent ownership interest) with Pandion Energy as its only partner (10 per cent interest).

Chief Executive Officer Jan Christian Ellefsen of Pandion Energy says in a comment:
“The Hod PDO submitted today is an evidence of the significant positive effects expected from the temporary changes to the Petroleum Tax Act. This is a profitable project which will generate work for Norwegian oil service companies during a challenging period for the industry and, over time, return large tax revenues. To Pandion Energy, this project also marks our third PDO, all with a clear environmental profile being powered from shore with ultra-low CO2 emissions.”

The Hod field has produced oil in the past from what was the first unmanned platform on the Norwegian continental shelf. The new Hod platform, to be named Hod B, is a copy of Valhall Flank West and will be delivered with an electric lifeboat monitored from the Valhall field centre. The crane and seawater pump will also be electric which, in addition to ultra-low CO2 emissions, will reduce the need for maintenance. The plan is to drill five wells with side-tracks to increase the recovery factor.

For further information, please contact:
Jan Christian Ellefsen
CEO Pandion Energy
tel: +47 91 74 48 99

On Monday 8 June, the Norwegian Government and the three largest opposition parties agreed on temporary changes to the Petroleum Tax Act in support of the oil and gas industry. Hod is the first project to be launched as a direct consequence of these changes.

Chief Executive Officer Jan Christian Ellefsen of Pandion Energy says in a comment:
“The board’s approval to move forward with the Hod development in the current market environment has been made possible by the temporary changes to the Petroleum Tax Act. For Pandion Energy, equal treatment of companies within and outside tax position, through negative instalment tax for the latter group, has been a decisive factor. We now look forward to the execution phase together with the operator Aker BP, replicating the successful Valhall Flank West project.”

The Hod development project unlocks approx. 40 million barrels of oil equivalents and the field is expected to generate more than NOK 6 billion of tax revenues during its lifetime. Including ripple effects, the project is estimated to create around 5 000 man-years of employment during the execution phase. With power from shore via the Valhall field, Hod also adds to Norway’s growing portfolio of oil and gas producers with ultra-low CO2 emissions.

Chief Executive Officer Jan Christian Ellefsen of Pandion Energy says in a comment:

“Following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, managing financial risk has been a high priority. Extending the EFF is a highly cost-efficient measure which strengthens our liquidity reserves and allows us to continue searching for and acting on attractive exploration and appraisal opportunities across the shelf. In this way, extending the EFF is not only about reducing risk, but also enabling the company to create value during a very challenging period for the industry.”

In addition to the EFF, Pandion Energy’s capital structure consists of a Reserve Based Lending Facility (RBL) of USD 150 million and a Senior Unsecured Bond Loan of NOK 400 million, as well as injected and committed, undrawn equity capital of total USD 190 million.

For further information, please contact:

Jan Christian Ellefsen
CEO Pandion Energy
tel: +47 91 74 48 99