Norwegian Petroleum Directorate doubles its estimate of undiscovered Barents Sea oil and gas resources

Barents SeaBarents Sea.Photo: wikimedia.commons

On Tuesday, in a press release, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said that, after mapping the eastern part of the Barents Sea north, the proportion of undiscovered resources in the Barents Sea has been adjusted from 50 to almost 65% of the total undiscovered resources on the Norwegian continental shelf.

The area is about 170,000 square kilometres, and is close to the new border to Russia.

‘Of course, the precise number is uncertain. It may turn out to be lower, or it may be much higher’, said oil director, Bente Nyland, adding that about 60% of the resources are probably liquid, and the rest gas.

The expected total resources are about as large in the Barents Sea north as in the Barents Sea south, but the northern part is only half as big as the southern.

This means that there is about twice as much resource potential per square kilometre in the north than in the south. However, the area has not yet been opened for petroleum activities, and it can’t be recovered in the long run, said Nyland.
 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today