Statoil Sets Eyes on GOM to Help Increase Production Growth

Industry Execs See Higher Costs, Improved Safety with New Regulations

With more than $20 billion worth of oil and gas assets in the United States, Statoil ASA has a lot invested in U.S. soil with hopes that this large investment will provide growth, commented Jason Nye, senior vice president of U.S. Offshore at Statoil, at the recent Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.

The Norwegian company's North American portfolio had a compound annual growth rate of more than 20 percent in 2012 and the company projects a strong growth rate going forward. The company plans to increase its production output from a current 2.1 million barrels per day to more than 2.5 million by 2020 with the U.S. projecting to be the biggest driver of that growth with production expected to triple from 150,000 barrels per day to around 500,000, the company said in a statement.

"Average production from our U.S. and Canadian fields in the first quarter 2012 was 149,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd)  – up as much as 75 percent compared to the corresponding quarter in 2011," said Bill Maloney, executive vice president and head of Statoil's Development and Production business area in North America, in a released statement. "We are on track to reach our ambition of producing above 500,000 boepd in 2020."

Statoil, which considers itself to be the world's largest offshore operator, holds a portfolio of various high-quality assets, and most recently, was the highest bidder on 15 leases in the central region U.S. Gulf of Mexico lease sale in March. With this recent addition, the company will control more than 340 leases in the GOM, further securing its significant lease holder position.

The company has been a partner in several major discoveries in the GOM, including the recently sanctioned Julia field, Stampede, Vito and its first GOM-operated Logan discovery.

Julia, situated about 200 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana, was discovered in 2007 and is estimated to have nearly 6 billion barrels of resources in place. Field development, consisting of a subsea tie-back to the Jack and St. Malo floating production platform, is estimated to take about three years to complete.

"We are very pleased to move ahead with the first phase of this important development," said Nye at Statoil's press conference at OTC. "The Julia field is a strong addition to our growing portfolio in the Gulf of Mexico. Julia has a substantial long-term production potential which is expected to be fully realized through the application of technology to unlock its full potential."


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