The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has assigned Wintershall Norge two new licenses in the 21st Licensing Round. Wintershall is the operator of both licences.
A total of 24 production licenses were awarded on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), 12 in the Barents Sea and 12 in the Norwegian Sea.
“We are pleased with the results from this round. The Norwegian Continental Shelf is one of Wintershall’s core regions, and we are continually building business and commitment in Norway,” says Martin Bachmann, Member of the Board of Executive Directors responsible for Exploration and Production.
In June 2010 the Ministry announced 94 licenses for which 37 companies applied. Wintershall received licence PL611 in the Barents Sea (in blocks 7223/3 and 6, and 7224/1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Germany’s largest E&P company will be the operator with a 40% interest, Faroe Petroleum Norge holds 40% and Petoro 20%. In the Norwegian Sea, Wintershall will be the operator of PL601 in the blocks 6609/3 and 6610/1 in the Nordland III area. The company will own a share of 40%. Rocksource, North Energy and Edison International Norway Branch each hold 20%.
“The Barents Sea is an exciting territory and could become one of the core petroleum regions on the Shelf. The area will be important to Norway and to Wintershall. We are an active partner in this region. In the Norwegian Sea the development of the “Maria” discovery made by Wintershall together with this award of “Blekksprut” is a confirmation of our ambitions in Norway. Wintershall is here to explore and turn the discoveries to production. The results of this licensing round underpin our strategy in Norway,” added Bachmann.
Wintershall, based in Kassel, Germany, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF in Ludwigshafen. The company has been active in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas for over 75 years. Wintershall focuses on selected core regions, where the company has built up a high level of regional and technological expertise. These are Europe, North Africa, South America, as well as Russia and the Caspian Sea region. In addition, these operations are complemented by the company’s growing exploration activities in the Arabian Gulf.
[mappress]
Source: , April 19, 2011;