The Norwegian energy major this week announced that it sells out of five North Sea fields and reduce its stakes in another three. The buyer is the British company Centrica. The deals have a joint price of €1.2 billion.
Statoil will exit the Skirne- Byggve, Fulla, Frigg-Gamma-Delta, Vale and Rind projects, and sell down in the Kvitebjørn, Heimdal and Valemon project, a press release from the company informs.
At the same time, the company confirms that the North Sea projects will be replaced with an enhanced focus on the Barents Sea. Statoil is thrilled by the prospects of the Skrugard field, leader of the company´s production development division admits to Offshore.no.
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-These deals help heighten our focus on the areas where we want to be, Øystein Michelsen says. –We will definitely heighten our focus on the High North, he adds.
Statoil is preparing for the drilling of two more wells at the Skrugard field, as well as one well on the adjacent Havis structure. It is the Aker Barents rig, which will do the operations.
The Norwegian oil and gas company in early April this year announced that it had made a major discovery at the Skrugard field. The structure has recoverable reserves of at least 250 million barrels of oil equivalents.
The discovery came as Norway was finalizing the delimitation deal in the Barents Sea with Russia. Also this formerly disputed area is part of Statoil´s plans. Preliminary studies indicate a major oil and gas potential in the area, and a Norwegian seismic vessel was sent to the area to do studies on the same day as Norway and Russia completed the delimitation process.
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Statoil is in addition partner in the Russian Shtokman gas project in the Barents Sea.
