Norway finds curbed by rig dearth

Stalled: start-up of newbuild rig Scarabeo 8

related stories

Steve Marshall

 03 July 2012 13:55 GMT

Exploration off Norway has yielded seven discoveries so far this year, one less than in the same period of 2011, as drilling has taken longer and fewer wells have been drilled due to rig capacity constraints, according to the country’s petroleum agency.

The finds tally from a total of 19 exploration and appraisal wells drilled in the first six months includes two significant North Sea discoveries – Statoil’s King Lear gas and condensate find and Wintershall’s Skarfjell oil hit – and the Havis oil and gas strike by Statoil in the Barents Sea.

This compares with eight discoveries made out of 21 exploration wells drilled in the same period of last year.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) attributed the lower level of drilling this year to longer drilling times due to more complex operations, such as at the…

Become an Upstream member!

Membership includes a subscription to our weekly newspaper providing in-depth news from the energy industry, plus full-access to this site and its archives. Still not convinced? Try our free trial.

Already a member?

Login

Upstream share price index