Statoil hits gas in Barents Sea

Norway’s Statoil has together with PL713 partners made a gas discovery in the Pingvin prospect in the Barents Sea.

The discovery is a play opener in a frontier unexplored area of the Barents Sea northwest of Johan Castberg.

The discovery well 7319/12-1, drilled by the drilling rig Transocean Spitsbergen, proved a 15-metre gas column in the well path. Statoil estimates the volumes in Pingvin to be in the range of 30-120 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. The discovery is currently assessed as non-commercial.

Exploration well 7319/12-1 is located in PL713 about 65 kilometres northwest of the Johan Castberg discovery.

Statoil is operator with an interest of 40%. The partners are RN Nordic Oil AS (20%), North Energy ASA (20%) and Edison International Norway Branch (20%).

Press Release, September 26, 2014