Statoil Picks Subsea Plan For Norway Project After 30% Cost Cut

OSLO, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Energy major Statoil and its partners have agreed on a development concept for their Trestakk oil and gas discovery off the coast of Norway after cutting the cost of the project by several hundred million dollars, the company said on Wednesday.

A final decision on whether or not to go ahead with the Norwegian Sea development will be taken during 2016, it added.

Statoil, ENI and Exxon Mobil have picked a subsea concept that will reduce the investment cost by 30 percent compared to their initial estimate from March 2015, Statoil said in a statement.

It did not reveal its cost estimate, but a Statoil spokesman said the savings amounted to several billion Norwegian crowns, corresponding to hundreds of millions of dollars.

One dollar currently costs 8.86 Norwegian crowns.

Development of Trestakk had previously been postponed to cut costs amid the crash in oil prices, which have forced energy firms to step up cash discipline and be cautious about investing in new projects.

The field, discovered in 1986, will be developed with five subsea wells which will be tied in to the nearby Aasgard field, Statoil said.

The oil ministry and the country's regulator have put pressure on Statoil to develop Trestakk, as the project is seen as time-critical due to its dependence of infrastructure in the area.

Recoverable resources for the field were estimated at 75 million barrels of oil equivalents. Production upstart could take place in 2019, Statoil said.

Operator Statoil holds a 59.1 percent stake in the project while Exxon Mobil has 33 percent and ENI 7.9 percent. ($1 = 8.8578 Norwegian crowns)

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik)