Statoil has completed its joint venture seismic acquisition project in the southeastern Barents Sea, carried out in advance of the Norwegian Continental Shelf’s upcoming licensing round.
“This information will constitute an important part of the basis for the respective companies’ decision-making for the 23rd licensing round,” the Norwegian giant said.
At the request of the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Statoil and others companies created an initiative through the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association to jointly acquire the broadband 3D data, which covered 13,700sq km. Statoil, which was named operator, said in a statement at the time that more than 30 expressed interest in participating. Statoil and 17 companies signed an agreement establishing the joint project on 12 December 2013.
The joint venture’s aim was to gather data on the southeastern Barents Sea in a resource-efficient manner. This area constitutes the first in the Norwegian Continental Shelf to be opened since 1994.
The list of 17 companies, which included BP, Chevron, Eni, Lukoil, Det norske oljeselskap and Wintershall from the start, grew to 33. WesternGeco and PGS were awarded contracts for seismic acquisition, with Statoil naming the Ramform Explorer as one of the vessels involved in the project.
Statoil said that data processing is underway and will be ready for interpretation in the fall of 2015.
“The need for thorough, efficient data acquisition in this area means that the further schedule for the 23rd licensing round may be somewhat delayed, compared with an ordinary two-year schedule,” the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said in a statement on 29 August 2013. The deadline to submit applications for the awards in predefined areas just passed on 2 September.
In January, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said that 160 blocks or partial blocks were nominated for the round, with 86 nominated by two or more companies.
Map showing seismic acquisition from Statoil.
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