Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway – There have been 12 discoveries offshore Norway this year, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). Six were in the North Sea, and three each were in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea.
So far, 42 exploration wells have spudded, down 10 on the total for last year, and below the 50-55 level forecast by NPD at the beginning of 2012. This is largely due to the tight rig market, and the fact that some drilling operations have taken longer than planned.
Of this year’s count, 27 were wildcat wells, and 15 were appraisal wells. Thirty of the exploration wells were drilled in the North Sea, seven in the Norwegian Sea, and five in the Barents Sea.
Statoil has drilled the largest number of exploration wells (11), followed by Lundin Norway (seven), and Wintershall (six). Det norske oljeselskap has drilled four wells, Eni and Total have drilled two wells, while BP, Centrica, Dong, Faroe, Lotos, Mærsk, Noreco, RWE Dea, Suncor, and Talisman have all drilled one well each.
12/18/2012
