Austria’s OMV reports oil find in far north Barents sea
Austrian energy giant OMV has made a large oil find in a Norwegian far north section of the Barents Sea until now unexplored, OMV and its partner Statoil said on Friday.
The Wisting Central well is believed to hold between 60 million and 160 million barrels of oil, and 10-40 billion cubic feet (between 283 million and 1.13 billion cubic metres) of natural gas, according to OMV's preliminary estimates. The drilling is the first in the Hoop region, located in the northernmost section of the Barents Sea that Norwegian authorities have opened for prospecting so far. Statoil, a project partner planning to carry out two drillings 50 kilometres (31 miles) further north next year, hailed the find. The Wisting Central field "gives us valuable geological information and demonstrates that the Hoop area has an exciting oil potential," Statoil's senior vice president for exploration, Gro Haatvedt, said in a statement.
The discovery "is encouraging for our upcoming drilling operations in the Hoop area," she added. OMV and Statoil hold 25 and 15 percent respectively in Wisting Central, while Norwegian state-owned company Petoro, Japan's Idemitsu Petroleum and British Tullow Oil each own 20 percent. According to Norway's Petroleum Directorate, the Norwegian waters of the Barents Sea hold almost 8.0 billion barrels of oil equivalent, offering new prospects amid the ageing wells in the North Sea. Oil production in Norway, one of the main exporters in the world, has been approximately halved since a peak in 2000-2001 when the country produced over 3.0 million barrels a day.
-Sapa-AFP