Statoil drills with Russians in Barents Sea – Today’s Business

Statoil drills with Russians in Barents Sea – Today's Business

Energy Oil and Gas

Despite the sanctions set Statoil started drilling with Rosneft.

Published: 18/08/2014 – 5:20 p.m.

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Statoil and Russia’s Rosneft starts drilling its first well together in the Barents Sea, writes Aftonbladet.

Norwegian authorities decided a week ago to follow EU sanctions against Russia in Ukraine crisis. Meanwhile, Statoil and Russia’s largest oil company Rosneft intercessor on to drill its first well offshore in Norway together.

-Riggen arrived at the drill site Sunday. We start drilling over the next few days, says media contact Knut Rostad Statoil to Aftonbladet.

– Our assessment is that exploration drilling on the Norwegian continental shelf are not affected. We relate to sanctions and it is important for us to ensure that what we do is in accordance with the sanctions, explains Rostad to DN.

Statoil also collaborates with Rosneft in Russia. The company will not yet conclude what happens to these projects.

– The sanctions are of such a nature that we must look very closely at them to see to what extent they affect us, he says.

Statoil signed in 2012 a strategic alliance with Rosneft, including joint exploration in the Barents Sea and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, a preliminary search for a heavy oil license onshore in Western Siberia and a collaborative project to assess the feasibility of commercial operation from shale formation Domanik in Samara region.

In addition, Statoil summer has been the operator of a joint acquisition of seismic data in the Barents Sea north, where Rosneft is one of 33 participating companies. This seismic survey in the Barents Sea south is still ongoing.

In Russia projects at an early stage, but is currently on schedule.

The well drilled on the Norwegian continental shelf called Penguin. The well is located in license 713 west of Johan Castberg, 146 km from Bear Island. The operation will be drilled by the rig “Transocean Spitsbergen.” Statoil is the operator of license 713 with a 40 percent stake, while Rosneft owns 20 percent through Rn oil Nordic AS.

-Riggen now preparing for the commencement of drilling. We should at this stage only drill down to the reservoir when we can not drill in hydrokabonførende layer before September 5, according to the permit. We will resume and complete boreoperajonen sometime after September 5, explains Rostad to Aftonbladet.