Estimates from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) indicate that more than 50 percent of the undiscovered oil and gas resources on the Norwegian shelf are hidden in the Barents Sea.
According to NPD’s resource accounts for 2016 the total estimate for both discovered and undiscovered petroleum resources on the Norwegian shelf 14.3 billion standard cubic meters of oil equivalents – translated into around 90 billion barrels.
More than 18 billion barrels is not yet confirmed, and according to NPD estimates half of that is to be found in the Barents Sea, according to Frifagbevegelse. The most exciting areas are close to Russia in the southeast and in the Barents Sea to the north. The Directorate’s report will be presented during the year.
– The resource base for this region is likely to increase, Director of Exploration in NPD, Sissel Eriksen, states.
According to the oil industry site Petro.no – Operators Statoil, Lundin and Eni plan to drill 13 exploration wells in the north in 2017. In the North Sea there will be drilled ten wells and additionally five will be drilled in the Norwegian Sea.
In the disputed areas outside Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja – Nordland VI and VII and Troms II projections are far fewer:
– It is currently only one well drilled in Nordland VI, so there is much to be done in the area. However, we expect that there are 202 million cubic meters of oil equivalents in Nordland VI, Nordland VII and Troms II. It is the greatest chance of finding reservoirs in the south, says Eriksen.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
