Statoil Plans to Drill 20-25 Wells on the Norwegian Shelf in 2014

Statoil plans to drill 20-25 exploration wells on the Norwegian continental shelf in 2014. According to a note released on Thursday, Norway-based Statoil will be the operator of two-thirds of the exploration wells.

"Statoil's exploration success rate on the Norwegian continental shelf has been over 70% the last five years, compared to an industry average of 49%. This confirms that our exploration strategy is paying off," said Gro Haatvedt, senior vice president for NCS exploration in Statoil.

The Norwegian oil and gas major will continue the exploration campaign in the Barents Sea in 2014 with 5-7 new wells. The company will test the potential in the Hoop area and continue exploration drilling around the Johan Castberg discoveries. 

"In the North Sea our plan is to further explore around the King Lear discovery and continue our hunt for barrels in the greater Utsira High area. We will also pursue our exploration effort around existing infrastructure in order to discover timely high-value barrels for the new fast-track developments," added Haatvedt.