Norwegian oil firm Statoil has set out its plans to drill around 30 exploration wells, in up to 11 countries on five continents, as operator and partner, in 2017 - an increase of around 30% compared to 2016.
More than half of the wells will be drilled on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), but Statoil will also focus on Brazil, the UK, the US Gulf of Mexico, Indonesia and Suriname, as well as onshore Russia and Turkey.
“Taking advantage of our own improvements and changed market conditions, we have been able to get more wells, more acreage and more seismic data for our exploration investments in later years,” says Tim Dodson, Executive Vice President for Exploration in Statoil.
“This allows us to firm up a strong drilling program for 2017, totaling around 30 exploration wells as operator and partner. The upcoming well program is balanced between proven, well known basins and new frontier opportunities,” he adds.
As well as expanding its exploration plans, Statoil is also one of the higher spenders on projects. According to GlobalData, Statoil is due to have the highest 2017 capex spending among all companies operating in the North Sea region, a status helped in no small measure by its work on the giant Johan Sverdrup development offshore Norway, as well as the UK North Sea Mariner heavy oil project.
Barents focus
A 5-7 well exploration campaign in the Barents Sea is at the core of Statoil's 2017 Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) drilling, with 16-18 NCS wells in total, the firm says. In The Norwegian Sea and the North Sea, the ambition is to prove near field volumes to prolong the productive lifetime of existing infrastructure and determine the growth potential.
“The Barents Sea has yielded several of Norway’s most significant oil discoveries in recent years. We are looking forward to test new targets, both in the relatively well known geology around in the Johan Castberg and Hoop/Wisting area, as well as some new frontier opportunities with greater geological uncertainty but also high impact potential. This campaign can provide us with crucial information about the long term future of the Norwegian shelf,” says Dodson.
In 2016, Statoil completed a total of 23 exploration wells as operator and partner – 14 of them on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The total exploration activity, also including a.o. licensing, access and seismic data acquisitions, was completed well below the original forecast due to efficiency improvements and market effects.
Look overseas, Dodson says: “Following our take-over as operator for the Carcara discovery last summer, Brazil has become even more important in Statoil’s portfolio, not least on the exploration front. We are stepping up exploration also in the UK, with plans for three Statoil operated exploration wells in 2017."
Elsewhere, partner operated wells are planned to be spudded in established basins like the US Gulf of Mexico and in in new frontier areas like Indonesia and Suriname. Statoil is also partnering in onshore exploration drilling planned in Russia and Turkey.
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Statoil to lead North Sea spending
Image: Statoil's Snorre A facility. Photo by Harald Pettersen.
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