Statoil books new North Sea discovery

A new North Sea reserve with at least 25 million barrels of oil recoverable has been discovered by Statoil.

The Norwegian-headquartered group said it made the discovery while drilling in the Verbier sidetrack in the Outer Moray Firth.

It said preliminary testing suggested the reserve had a minimum of 25 million barrels of oil but could potentially hold up to 130 million barrels.

Statoil has a 70% interest and is operator of the new discovery, while Jersey Oil and Gas holds 18% and CIECO V&C (UK) has a 12% stake.

“We have proven oil in good quality sands with good reservoir properties but significant work remains, most likely including appraisal, to clarify the recoverable volumes and refine this range,” said Jez Averty, senior-vice president exploration in Norway and the UK.

“The partnership will continue to assess the data and plan further appraisal to determine the exact size of the discovery.

“The partnership will also seek to determine the commerciality of the discovery in addition to maturing additional opportunities within the P2170 licence.”

Jenny Morris, vice-president for exploration in the UK, said Statoil had drilled two other exploration wells during its summer programme with “disappointing” results.

However, she said the Verbier find gave Statoil confidence about the remaining high-value potential of UK Continental Shelf.

Picture: Kenneth Engelsvold. Transocean’s Spitsbergen drilling rig used in the Verbier operation.