Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Statoil (OSE:STL;NYSE:STO) and partners Eni (MI:ENI;NYSE:E) and Petoro have agreed on further exploration drilling in the Skrugard area of the Norwegian Barents Sea.
Their aim is to follow up on the commercial Skrugard andHavis discoveries and to test further upside potential in this area, including production licenses PL532 and PL608.
“In less than a year, we have made two substantial oil discoveries in PL532, proving 400-600 MMbbl of recoverable oil. We have also drilled a successful appraisal well on Skrugard confirming volume estimates and collecting data for field development planning,” said Knut Harald Nygård, Statoil VP for exploration in theSkrugard area.
“We see good opportunities for further upside in the area, and have identified four new interesting prospects. In some of these we have observed flat spots of the same type as in the Skrugard and Havis discoveries.”
The four prospects will be drilled back-to-back with theWest Hercules drilling rig, which will undergo winterization to withstand the weather conditions in the Barents Sea.
The drilling campaign should start on PL532 with a well on the Nunatak prospect due to spud in December. The rig will then drill the Skavl structure in the same license, followed by Iskrystall in neighboring license PL608.
Drilling prospect number four is yet to be determined, although Statoil aims to complete the program by late spring/early summer 2013.
“With the Skrugard and Havis discoveries, we are establishing a new strategic hub in the northernmost part of the Norwegian continental shelf. Proving additional volumes in the area would make the development even more robust,” said Erik Strand Tellefsen, Statoil VP for Skrugard field development.
5/10/2012
