據石油新聞2020年8月27日倫敦報道，挪威能源巨頭Equinor 27日在奧斯陸表示，在經歷了一次令人失望的地震勘探戰役以后，Equinor決定放棄其在南非近海的大面積勘探探區，轉而專注于更具吸引力的上游資產。

在收購了埃克森美孚公司領導的南非Tugela South區塊的35%股份以后，前身是挪威國家石油公司(Statoil)的Equinor在2015年進入了南非。目前，Equinor在南非東海岸以外海域擁有4份深水勘探許可證，其中3份是與埃克森美孚公司合作。

另外，記者未能立即聯系到埃克森美孚公司就報道置評。這篇報道稱，埃克森美孚公司也已決定離開南非上游探區。

Equinor的一位發言人說：“在對已采集的地震數據進行評估以后，我們的勘探投資組合的競爭日益激烈，與其它機會相比，這些機會的排名還不夠好。”

這位發言人說，在獲得監管部門批準退出這些區塊以后，Equinor將不再持有南非的上游許可證。

在Equinor最后一次擴大其在南非的勘探足跡不到兩年之后，Equinor就購入了埃克森美孚公司的5萬平方公里(19305平方英里)深水德班勘探許可證的50%權益。

李峻 編譯自 石油新聞

原文如下：

Equinor to drop South African exploration portfolio after poor seismic results

Norway's Equinor has decided to drop its extensive exploration acreage offshore South Africa to focus on more attractive upstream assets following a disappointing seismic campaign, the company said Aug. 27.

Equinor, formerly Statoil, entered South Africa in 2015 after buying a 35% stake in the Tugela South block led by ExxonMobil. It currently has four deepwater exploration licenses off the country's eastern coast, three of which are partnered with Exxon.

Separately, Exxon was not immediately available to comment on a report that it has also decided to leave the South Africa upstream acreage.

"Following an assessment of acquired seismic data and with increased competition within our exploration portfolio, these opportunities do not rank well enough compared to other opportunities," an Equinor spokesman said.

Following regulatory approvals to exit the blocks, Equinor will no longer hold upstream licenses in the country, the spokesman said.

The move comes less than two years after Equinor last grew its South African exploration footprint with a 50% farm-in into Exxon's huge, 50,000 square km (19,305 square miles) Deepwater Durban exploration license.