Statoil finds 600-barrel oil deposit in deep ocean off Newfoundland
by The Canadian Press
In total the company has discovered nearly a billion barrels of oil in three deposits, but all are more than 1,100-metres below the ocean's surface
ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—Statoil says its first exploration well in the Flemish Pass Basin in the North Atlantic has discovered between 300 and 600 million barrels of recoverable oil.
The Norwegian energy company made the discovery in August while drilling in depths of about 1,100 metres of water in an area known as the Bay du Nord prospect, about 500 kilometres northeast of St. John’s.
The Bay du Nord discovery is Statoil’s third discovery in the Flemish Pass Basin.
The Mizzen discovery is estimated to hold a total of 100-200 million barrels of recoverable oil and the Harpoon discovery, announced in June, is still under evaluation and volumes have not yet been confirmed.
The Harpoon discovery is about 10 kilometres away from Bay du Nord.
All three discoveries are in approximately 1,100 metres of water.
“It is exciting that Statoil is opening a new basin offshore Newfoundland,” says Tim Dodson, executive vice president of Statoil Exploration. “This brings us one step closer to becoming a producing operator in the area.”
“With only a few wells drilled in a large licenced area, totalling about 8,500 square kilometres, more work is required,” adds Dodson.
“This will involve new seismic as well as additional exploration and appraisal drilling to confirm these estimates before the partnership can decide on an optimal development solution in this frontier basin.”
