Norway's Statoil upgrades North Sea oil find

Oct 21, 2011, 8:10 GMT

Oslo - Norwegian energy firm Statoil on Friday upgraded its recent North Sea oil find, stating it could rate among the largest discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf.

The find could contain between 900 million and 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), twice the size of an earlier estimate, the state-controlled group said.

'Aldous/Avaldsnes is a giant, and one of the largest finds ever on the Norwegian continental shelf,' Tim Dodson, Statoil's executive vice president for exploration said.

'Volume estimates have now increased further because the appraisal well confirms a continuous, very good and thick reservoir in Aldous Major South,' he added.

The initial finds were reported in August. More test drilling was to be conducted to determine the size of the Aldous/Avaldsnes discovery, which extends over ¿¿approximately 180 square kilometres.

Statoil has a 40 per cent interest in the Aldous Major South find, which is located west of Stavanger. Other partners are Petoro with a 30 per cent stake, Det norske oljeselskap with 20 per cent, and Lundin Petroleum with 10 per cent.

Lundin Petroleum is the operator of the Avaldsnes find and has a 40 per cent interest, while Statoil and Maersk have 40 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.