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Released September 04, 2017 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Norwegian oil and gas major Statoil ASA (NYSE:STO) (Stavanger, Norway) has failed to find oil on its first drilling project in the Arctic Barents Sea.
The company and its partners have expressed high hopes for the Korpfjell prospect in the Norwegian section of the Arctic. It is the first exploration well drilled in the Norwegian section of a formerly disputed area between Norway and Russia. This is part of the most active drilling programme yet undertaken in the Barents Sea where Statoil is hoping for "new and major discoveries" that are crucial to maintaining the current Norwegian Continental Shelf production level up to 2030 and beyond.
However, Statoil has announced that its first drilling has "proven a small, non-commercial gas volume in the Korpfjell well in the Barents Sea southeast." The gas discovery is estimated to contain 40 million to 75 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents (6-12 billion standard cubic metres of gas), but is not large enough for a commercial development. The gas was proven in the well's main target.
"Korpfjell is a structure of a size seldom seen on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and has attracted much interest, and the results of the first well in this frontier area of the Barents Sea have triggered broad and strong expectations," explained Jez Averty, Statoil's head of exploration in Norway and the U.K. "For this reason, it has been important to us to complete this drilling. The results are of course disappointing, but it is too early to draw any conclusions on how this will impact the Barents Sea southeast area."
Statoil is operator of Korpfjell with a 30% share, while partners Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) and Petoro AS control 20% each and Lundin Petroleum (Stockholm, Sweden) and ConocoPhillips Company (NYSE:COP) (Houston, Texas).
"It is important to remember that you rarely succeed on the first try in a frontier area," Averty added. "Thirty-three wells were drilled before the first commercial discovery was made in the Norwegian section of the North Sea. Even if we have learned a lot since 1969, we do not expect the first exploration well to give all the answers. We need further exploration to find out what this implies for the total resource potential of the Barents Sea southeast area."
Alex Schneiter, chief executive officer and president of Lundin Petroleum, commented: "The southern Barents Sea remains an exciting exploration area with significant yet-to-find prospective resources and where the company has established a large acreage position with prospectivity on three high impact trends. While the results of the Korpfjell well are not what we hoped for, it is the first well to be drilled in the southeastern Barents Sea and more exploration will be needed to understand the potential of this area. Further drilling is expected to take place in 2018 in PL859 to test additional prospectivity. Additionally, a well is being planned next year on the large Signalhornet prospect in PL857, located some 300 kilometres (km) south of Korpfjell.
In July, Industrial Info reported that production had started at Statoil's Gina Krog field in the North Sea. Located 30 km northwest of Sleipner and 230 km southwest of Stavanger, it has 20 well slots and recoverable reserves totalling 16.8 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of oil, 11.8 billion Sm3 of gas and 3.2 million tonnes of natural gas liquids (NGL). For additional information, see July 10, 2017, article - Gina Krog Oil and Gas Field Starts Production in North Sea.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
Project(s): 300370005 300165866 Plant(s): 3260990 3102053
The company and its partners have expressed high hopes for the Korpfjell prospect in the Norwegian section of the Arctic. It is the first exploration well drilled in the Norwegian section of a formerly disputed area between Norway and Russia. This is part of the most active drilling programme yet undertaken in the Barents Sea where Statoil is hoping for "new and major discoveries" that are crucial to maintaining the current Norwegian Continental Shelf production level up to 2030 and beyond.
However, Statoil has announced that its first drilling has "proven a small, non-commercial gas volume in the Korpfjell well in the Barents Sea southeast." The gas discovery is estimated to contain 40 million to 75 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents (6-12 billion standard cubic metres of gas), but is not large enough for a commercial development. The gas was proven in the well's main target.
"Korpfjell is a structure of a size seldom seen on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and has attracted much interest, and the results of the first well in this frontier area of the Barents Sea have triggered broad and strong expectations," explained Jez Averty, Statoil's head of exploration in Norway and the U.K. "For this reason, it has been important to us to complete this drilling. The results are of course disappointing, but it is too early to draw any conclusions on how this will impact the Barents Sea southeast area."
Statoil is operator of Korpfjell with a 30% share, while partners Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) and Petoro AS control 20% each and Lundin Petroleum (Stockholm, Sweden) and ConocoPhillips Company (NYSE:COP) (Houston, Texas).
"It is important to remember that you rarely succeed on the first try in a frontier area," Averty added. "Thirty-three wells were drilled before the first commercial discovery was made in the Norwegian section of the North Sea. Even if we have learned a lot since 1969, we do not expect the first exploration well to give all the answers. We need further exploration to find out what this implies for the total resource potential of the Barents Sea southeast area."
Alex Schneiter, chief executive officer and president of Lundin Petroleum, commented: "The southern Barents Sea remains an exciting exploration area with significant yet-to-find prospective resources and where the company has established a large acreage position with prospectivity on three high impact trends. While the results of the Korpfjell well are not what we hoped for, it is the first well to be drilled in the southeastern Barents Sea and more exploration will be needed to understand the potential of this area. Further drilling is expected to take place in 2018 in PL859 to test additional prospectivity. Additionally, a well is being planned next year on the large Signalhornet prospect in PL857, located some 300 kilometres (km) south of Korpfjell.
In July, Industrial Info reported that production had started at Statoil's Gina Krog field in the North Sea. Located 30 km northwest of Sleipner and 230 km southwest of Stavanger, it has 20 well slots and recoverable reserves totalling 16.8 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of oil, 11.8 billion Sm3 of gas and 3.2 million tonnes of natural gas liquids (NGL). For additional information, see July 10, 2017, article - Gina Krog Oil and Gas Field Starts Production in North Sea.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
Project(s): 300370005 300165866 Plant(s): 3260990 3102053
