In an interview with Petro.no, Statoil Senior Vice President for exploration Gro Gunleiksrud Haatvedt confirms that the Jan Mayen waters are not considered promising by her company. She does not believe that the area has the potential to become a new oil or gas province and underlines that it is far down on the list of Statoil’s priority regions.
As previously reported, the Norwegian government recently announced that 180 million NOK will be spent on oil and gas mapping of the Jan Mayen waters in the period 2012-2014. The mapping will include both collection of seismic data and drilling operations in shallow waters.
Read also: Norway steps up mapping of Arctic oil
Haatvedt maintains that a geological elevation in the area over the times have made the petroleum resources vanish. She also highlights that there are major challenges connected with exploration and infrastructure development in the area. Jan Mayen is located about 950km west of the Norwegian mainland and 600 km north of Iceland and has hardly any existing infrastructure.
It is the Lofoten waters which are on top of Statoil’s wishing list. The company believes the blocks Nordland VI, Nordland VII and Troms II are highly promising areas. Statoil is therefore disappointed about the Norwegian government’s recent decision to ban exploration in the area until at least 2013.
Read also: No to Lofoten, yes to Barents Sea
Haatvedt also underlines that Statoil has little data on the recently delineated waters in the Barents Sea.
Read also: Norway eager to explore oil in border areas
