Equinor seals the deal offshore Brazil

June 15 (UPI) -- Equity production from offshore Brazil more than doubles after the completion of an acquisition in the Campos oil basin, Norwegian company Equinor said.

Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, said Friday it completed a transaction with Brazilian company Petróleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, for a 25 percent stake in the Roncador oil field in the Campos basin off the Brazilian coast.

Announced in December, the $2 billion deal included $550 million in contingent payments for projects meant to boost field recovery. Through the deal, Equinor increases its equity production in Brazil from around 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to around 100,000 boe per day.

"The collaboration between the two companies will enable us to extend the productive life of the field, which will result in enhanced ripple effects for local communities and the supplier industry," Anders Opedal, the Norwegian company's manager in Brazil, said in a statement.

Roncador is the third-largest field in production in Brazil. Stimulus efforts could boost recoverable reserves from 1 billion boe to 1.5 billion boe.

Equinor in July signed up with a regional Brazilian partner to take a 10 percent stake in a license area in the lucrative Santos basin, bringing the hold for the Norwegian energy major up to 76 percent in the $379 million deal.

The company already claims ownership over the Peregrino field in the Campos basin off the coast of Brazil alongside Chinese energy company Sinochem. In 2015, Equinor achieved a production milestone in the region by passing the 100 million barrel mark.

Opedal said last year that Brazil was a "core area" for Equinor.

Economists at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries put Brazil in the No. 3 spot, behind the United States and Canada, respectively, when it comes to production gains from non-member states. In terms of year-on-year growth, however, Brazilian forecasts were revised down by about 34,000 barrels per day.