Net income in the first quarter of 2011 was NOK 16.1 billion compared to NOK 11.1 billion in the same period last year. The quarterly result was mainly affected by increases in the average prices for oil and gas. Oil is up 33 percent, gas 20 percent since 2010.
- In the first quarter of 2011 we delivered good financial results and passed important industrial milestones. Through the Skrugard discovery and the new acreage awarded Statoil in the Barents Sea, we take new steps in opening a new energy frontier in the North, says Helge Lund, Statoil’s chief executive officer on the company’s web site.
On April 1 Statoil announced a significant oil discovery on the Skrugard prospect in the Barents Sea, which is believed to contain recoverable reserves of 150 to 250 million barrels of oil equivalentBefore this finding, more than 80 wells have been drilled in the southern part of the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. So far, Snøhvit gas field is the only in production, while Eni Norway’s Goliat oil field is under development.
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On 15 April the government announced that Statoil was awarded holdings in 11 new production licences in the Barents Sea in the 21st licensing round on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Statoil expects equity production in 2011 to be around the 2010 level, or slightly below.
