New oil discovery by Statoil in North Sea

A LARGE OIL discovery has been made at the Geitungen prospect in the North Sea by Norway’s biggest oil company, Statoil.

Between 140 million to 270 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents have been discovered at Geitungen, which is three kilometres north of the Johan Sverup deposit. It is suspected there is a link between the two finds.

The find represents the largest for Norway since 1974.

“A new oil discovery in the Johan Sverdrup area, in the mature part of the North Sea reinforces Statoil’s faith in the exploration potential of the Norwegian continental shelf, and demonstrates that we deliver on our strategy of revitalising the NCS with high value barrels,” Gro Haatvedt, senior vice president exploration Norway in Statoil said in a statement today.

Statoil is the operator for production licence 265 with a 40 per cent stake; meanwhile, Petoro holds a 30 per cent stake, Det Norske Oljeselskap owns 20 per cent and Lundin Petroleum owns 10 per cent.

“The Geitungen discovery will be included in the on-going development work for the Johan Sverdrup field. The discovery should therefore be seen in relation with the on-going appraisal program in Johan Sverdrup to narrow down the volume range and uncertainty”, says Øivind Reinersten, Statoil VP for Johan Sverdrup field development.

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