Equinor (EQNR) and Standard Lithium's (SLI) Smackover Lithium partnership said Tuesday that a preliminary economic assessment, or PEA, of the Franklin project in northeast Texas estimates annual production of up to 70,000 tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate.

The project has an unlevered after-tax net present value of $5 billion, an internal rate of return of 24%, and a 3.1-year payback period, assuming a discount rate of 8% and a lithium carbonate price of $22,400 per tonne, Smackover said.

The partnership said it could begin production in the early 2030s, with the potential for a longer operating life and further expansion, even though that is not included in the PEA.

The PEA estimates capital intensity of $49,945 per tonne, with an average annual cash operating cost of $4,226 per tonne.

In Tuesday's premarket activity, Equinor shares were up 2.4% while Standard Lithium added 0.4%.