Three recent oil discoveries in the Bay Du Nord off eastern Canada may be the answer to commercial viability for Norway's Statoil in the region.
Last week, Statoil ASA (STL) announced its third find in the Bay du Nord in Canada's Flemish Pass Basin, which is estimated to hold between 300 million and 600 million barrels of recoverable oil.
The sidetrack well has confirmed that the find is a "high-impact" one.
The first discovery in this license came in August.
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But the real story here is what this means for existing prospects and future prospects in the area. The three finds in Bay du Nord make the potential for the nearby fields of Mizzen and Harpoon much more attractive. And there's a lot more to explore.
"There are other parts of the structure which are regarded as prospective and not included in the volumes we quoted," Head of Exploration Tim Dodson told Bloomberg. "And there are other prospects over and beyond that in the license."
Dodson also noted that the three license areas could end up being developed jointly due to their geographical proximity.
Statoil has is the operating partner in all three licenses, with a 65% stake. Its partner, Husky Energy Inc. (HSE) has a 35% stake. Mizzen is believed to hold between 100 million and 200 million barrels.
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Statoil is eyeing commercial viability here because of the multiple finds and the picture this paints for some hefty potential, with the only drawback being the availability of the right kind of rigs for drilling in this environment.
The good news for Statoil comes as Norway's newly elected Conservative-led government considers whether to divest 16% of its stake in Statoil to raise $11 billion, and while the oil giant prepares to sell some of its North Sea assets to Austria's OMV.
By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com
Joao is a writer for Oilprice.com More