Lundin Petroleum has been awarded 10 exploration licence interests in the 2011 Norwegian Licensing Round, (Awards in Predefined Areas, APA). Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe described APA 2011 as the most extensive licensing round ever undertaken on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The awarded licences include one licence in the Greater Luno Area and two licences in the Barents Sea. Four of the awarded licences will be operated by Lundin Petroleum.
Capex
The company yesterday announced the details of its USD 960 million development, appraisal and exploration budget for 2012. The budget represents a 40 percent increase on the forecast 2011 capital expenditure.
The development budget for 2012 is USD 500 million with a major focus on development activities in Norway. The exploration and appraisal budget for 2012 is USD 460 million with a major focus on Norway which accounts for USD 360 million of this amount. The work programme involves the drilling of 24 exploration and appraisal wells in Norway, Malaysia, France and the Netherlands.
Ashley Heppenstall, President & CEO of Lundin Petroleum comments; “Our organic exploration driven growth strategy has been very successful with the major Avaldsnes discovery in Norway and additional discoveries in Malaysia. We are continuing with our aggressive exploration program in 2012 with a continued focus on Norway and Malaysia. I am confident that our exploration portfolio will continue to deliver successful results. We are moving forward with our Norwegian development programme which will double our production by the end of 2015”.
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff, January 18, 2012; Image: Lundin Petroleum