Equinor Expands Helicopter Diversity For Norwegian Continental Shelf Operations: Details

Energy firm Equinor ASA EQNR has decided to procure 15 new helicopters for passenger traffic on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

The procurement will happen through contracts with helicopter manufacturers Bell and Leonardo. Under the contracts, Equinor will receive ten new Bell 525 helicopters and five AW189 helicopters.

“These helicopter types will supplement the current Sikorsky S-92. All three helicopter models meet stringent safety requirements. By increasing from one to three helicopter models on the NCS we get more flexibility and regularity,” said Kjetil Hove, executive vice president, Exploration & Production Norway.

The first two helicopters will be delivered from Leonardo in the first quarter of 2025. In 2026, Leonardo will deliver three, and Bell four helicopters.  

Since 2016, Equinor has only used Sikorsky S-92 machines for personnel transport and search and rescue services on the NCS. The company annually transports 160,000 offshore employees to and from the NCS.

“The new models feature technological improvements in terms of pilot support systems, passenger comfort and noise reduction,” said Ørjan Kvelvane, Equinor’s senior vice president for joint operations support.

The announcement came as Norway on Friday restarted helicopter traffic to its offshore oil and gas fields after a deadly crash of a Sikorsky model S-92A this week, reported Reuters.

Price Action: EQNR shares are trading higher by 2.03% at $25.12 on the last check Friday.

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