Shell and Det Norske Oljeselskap AS (DNO), an international petroleum company headquartered in Oslo, have reached an agreement whereby DNO will take over Shell's 15% interest in the Goliat field in PL 229 in the Barents Sea and its 25% interest in licenses PL 035 and PL 272 in block 30/11 of the Norwegian North Sea.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The Goliat field is 85 km northeast of Hammerfest and 50 km southeast of the Snøhvit field. Agip, operator of the license, plans to drill an exploration well there following the success of a previous test.
Licenses PL 035 and PL 272 are 20 km southwest of Oseberg Sør. Both licenses were part of the portfolio Shell took over when the company acquired Enterprise Oil in 2002. An exploration well is planned for 2Q 2004.
In 2003, DNO participated in four exploration and three production wells on the Norwegian shelf, with encouraging results. DNO will participate in an additional two wells on the Norwegian shelf this year.
The core area of Shell's European upstream activity is the Atlantic Margin. The transfer means Shell will focus primarily be on the Norwegian Sea. Following the transfer, Shell will no longer have license interests in the Barents Sea. The company says it still believes the Barents Sea contains commercial resources and will reconsider participation in the area when it is opened up to oil and gas activity in the future.
(02/02/04)
