OSLO: Austrian energy giant OMV has made a large oil find in a Norwegian far north section of the Barents Sea until now unexplored, OMV and its partner Statoil said yesterday.
The Wisting Central well is believed to hold between 60 million and 160 million barrels of oil, and 10-40 billion cubic feet of natural gas, according to OMV’s preliminary estimates.
The drilling is the first in the Hoop region, located in the northernmost section of the Barents Sea that Norwegian authorities have opened for prospecting so far. Statoil, a project partner planning to carry out two drillings 50 km further north next year, hailed the find.
The Wisting Central field “gives us valuable geological information and demonstrates that the Hoop area has an exciting oil potential,” Statoil’s senior vice president for exploration, Gro Haatvedt, said in a statement.
AFP
