The Norwegian government will propose this week to open the southeastern Barents Sea for oil activity, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said Monday, the first new oil acreage in nearly two decades.
The Norwegian government will propose this week to open the southeastern
Barents Sea
for oil activity, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy
said Monday, the first new oil acreage in nearly two decades.
The government will present a proposal to the parliament Friday to open the
previously disputed
Barents Sea
area near the Russian border,
the ministry said. The three-party coalition government has a parliamentary
majority.
"For the first time since 1994, we can now open a new area for petroleum
activity and search for oil and gas in new, promising areas," said
Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe, calling it a "historical
moment" for Norway.
According to the ministry, the opening process has been ongoing since the
spring of 2011. Following 40 years of dispute,
Norway
and
Russia
agreed on a delineation deal in 2010. The areas that will be opened for
drilling are in the southern part of the previously disputed area.
"The petroleum activity becomes more and more important for northern
Norway
. There
is huge optimism in that part of the country," said Mr. Moe.
In February, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate presented the results of
seismic data gathering in the southeastern
Barents Sea
. The
directorate said the Norwegian part of the area likely held 1.9 billion barrels
of oil equivalent, most of it gas and about 15% crude oil. This equals slightly
more than a year of
Norway
's
total oil and gas output.
The ministry said those resources equaled about eight fields, which is the size
of the Eni SpA (E) operated Goliat oil field currently under development in the
Barents Sea.
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