Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil ASA (STO) Monday said it has made
a significant oil discovery in the
North Sea
with
Norwegian state-owned
Petoro
AS
, Det
Norske Oljeselskap ASA (DETNOR.OS) and Lundin Norway AS, the Norwegian arm of
Sweden
's
Lundin Petroleum (LUPE.SK).
Statoil said a 65-meter oil column was found on the Aldous Major South
prospect, and data confirms the reservoir is of excellent quality.
Preliminary volumes are estimated to be between 200 and 400 million barrels of
oil equivalent for this part of the structure in the license and the firm
expects additional gains in the license, both north and south of the discovery.
The company said the discovery suggests a link with the Avaldsnes discovery,
where a 17-meter oil column has been discovered.
"Aldous Major South is a considerable oil discovery in one of Statoil's
core areas. Together with the Avaldsnes discovery this may allow for a new
stand-alone development in the
North Sea
,"
said Gro G. Haatvedt, Statoil's senior vice president for exploration on the
Norwegian continental shelf.
The discovery announced Monday follows the announcement in April of Skrugard, a
major oil find in the
Barents Sea
. Its volumes are estimated at
250 million barrels of oil equivalent, but Statoil has said it could hold as
much as 500 million barrels of oil equivalent.
The finds are welcome news to Statoil which has struggled with falling output. The
company, which is 67% owned by the Norwegian state, posted a 16% drop in
production in the second quarter due to maintenance and unplanned outages,
following incidents such as gas leaks.
The company has said it is looking to invest $16 billion this year and about
the same amount next year to boost its output.
Statoil owns 40% of Aldous Major South, while Petoro owns 30%, Det norske
oljeselskap 20% and Lundin
Norway
10%. Statoil's
stake in the Avaldsnes discovery is also 40%.
Det Norske Oljeselskap got a boost from the announcement of the Aldous find and
was trading 13% higher at NOK28.10. Analyst Teodor Sveen Nilsen at First
Securities said the oil discovery is important news for the firm and noted its
shares also get support Monday from the news of a gas discovery on the Norvarg
prospect in the
Barents Sea
.
At 0857
GMT Statoil shares traded 0.3% higher at NOK119.10.