Equinor ASA has agreed to buy a 49% interest in Russian onshore petroleum assets from Rosneft for $550 million, the Norwegian oil company said on Dec. 11.

The payment is for a stake in limited liability company LLC KrasGeoNaC (KGN), which holds 12 conventional onshore exploration and production licenses in eastern Siberia, Equinor said.

One of the 12 licenses covers the North Danilovsky development, which started operations in July and is expected to produce 40,000 bbl/d of oil by 2024, with subsequent plans to increase this to 70,000 bbl/d, it added.

Map of Equinor Licenses in Russia

The deal also meant Equinor was no longer participating in offshore activities in the Sea of Okhotsk.

"We drilled two wells a few years ago in that area and the results from those wells led us to prioritize other areas," Equinor spokesman Erik Haaland said.

In addition to the producing field, Equinor's new licenses give it a share of acreage with exploration potential, he added.

They only concern conventional onshore projects and therefore do not fall under any Norwegian-backed European Union sanctions on oil exploration in Russia, which cover deepwater Arctic and shale developments, the spokesman said.

Equinor and Rosneft have maintained a strategic partnership in Russia since 2012, covering joint projects in several parts of the country.