Some of Equinor’s most exciting development work is taking place in the United States, one of our key innovation hubs worldwide. Our upstream activities in the US are managed from Houston, Texas, including our department for relations with Interest Owners.
How to find us in the US
Our upstream activities in the US are managed from Houston, Texas, while our midstream, marketing and trading activities are managed from our office in Stamford, Connecticut.
To share views about safety and environmental matters in our US offshore business, contact SafetyandEnvironment@statoil.com
An active player in the shale revolution
We have experienced strong growth in production within US shale since we entered our first play in 2008. Abundant shale and tight gas and oil resources are transforming the global energy outlook, and we are participating actively in this exciting new era in the energy market.
Our shale gas and oil business began in the US through active partnerships in the Marcellus play spanning several states in the eastern US, the Eagle Ford play in south Texas, and our own operatorship of tight oil activities in North Dakota's Bakken play.
We are committed to operating our shale and tight assets safely, respecting local communities and reducing our environmental footprint.
Improving sustainability and efficiency
We are continuously looking to improve sustainability and operational efficiency. In our shale operations we have multiple initiatives underway to reduce the footprint of our operations.
How we perform shale operations responsibly
We strive to be a responsible operator, continuously improving safety, sustainability and how we work with our local communities.
By cooperating with industry peers in research studies we have learned a great deal about identifying, quantifying and mitigating methane and other VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions, and are applying this knowledge to our operations. In the Eagle Ford, for example, we are using forward-looking infrared (FLIR) technology to survey our production facilities and identify emissions, enabling reductions of between 10% and 90% and improving local air quality.
We are collaborating with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and other industry peers in the Methane Detectors Challenge, which aims to bring to market new, advanced sensing technologies that could play a key role in timely detection of methane emissions from operations, and which will contribute to our ambition to be the most carbon efficient oil and gas producer.
Environmental sustainability is also an area where we are keen to make progress as production increases. Flaring gas has been a challenge for the entire industry in the Bakken, and we are working to reduce it. We now capture more than 85% (of our total production) of the gas we produce in the Bakken, in line with North Dakota state targets.
But we can always do more. We have a partnership with GE Oil and Gas to accelerate the development of more environmentally and economically sustainable energy solutions. We are seeking solutions to reduce trucking, water usage and improve efficiency of sand proppants.
Offshore focus
We have an attractive position in the US Gulf of Mexico, being a partner in many of the largest fields and with a significant exploration portfolio.
We are a partner in six producing fields in the Gulf of Mexico—Julia, Tahiti, Caesar Tonga, Jack, St. Malo and Heidelberg—which contribute more than 40,000 boe/day to the company’s overall production. We are also a partner in some of the most exciting fields under development, including Stampede, Vito and Big Foot, and the company is expected to more than double its production by 2020.
For these exciting developments we are taking our proven experience from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) and elsewhere and applying it to our positions in this globally prolific basin. We bring a fresh perspective to operations in the Gulf of Mexico while remaining environmentally steadfast and conscious in everything we do.
Fusing innovation, efficiency and safety
The Gulf of Mexico is home to some of Statoil’s most pioneering deepwater work that embodies the fusion between innovation and safety. Uncertainty in pressure and formation strength when developing a well can cause setbacks and delays. Engineers at Statoil have worked to find different ways to drill wells and better manage this window between pore pressure and fracture gradient.
This has enabled Statoil to drill some of the most efficient wells in the Gulf of Mexico, without compromising our commitments to safe operations. Bringing tried and tested technologies from our operations around the world allows us to standardize our approach and be more efficient in the way we operate.
Statoil has also been pioneering work in improved oil recovery to ensure our offshore operations are as efficient as they possibly can be. To achieve these targets we must constantly innovate and look to established solutions such as water injection and developing new ones such as combining gas and water injection.
Safe and efficient operations are always our first priority, and to underpin this we participate in the Center for Offshore Safety, focusing on improving offshore safety and industry standards. We have also developed and implemented a safety and environmental management system and responded to revised federal drilling safety and workplace safety rules.
Proudly supporting our communities
At Statoil, making a positive difference in the communities where we live and work is deeply ingrained in our culture.
Through company sponsorships and donations, we support various organizations that are bettering communities and improving the lives of the people in those communities. Our sponsorships focus on supporting talented young people in sport, culture and education, and helping them to become the Heroes of Tomorrow.
Statoil also encourages employee giving through our US Employee Volunteer and Matching Grant programs. Employees are able to live the Statoil values by donating their time or financial resources to local nonprofit organizations dedicated to Community/Social Services, STEM Education, Environment, or Health. Statoil doubles the impact of employee giving by matching the financial donations, as well as making donations to a qualified organization for every hour an employee volunteers.