Statoil has acquired a 30.625% working interest in the Pitu licence in Baffin Bay. The licence was awarded to Cairn Energy during the first Baffin Bay licensing round in December 2010.
Cairn will continue as operator and retains a 56.875% working interest while partner Nunaoil will retain its carried (pre-development) interest of 12.5%.
The Pitu licence lies immediately adjacent to the two Shell-operated licences, Anu and Napu, where Statoil has a working interest of 20.125% and 14.875% respectively.
“We are looking forward to exploring this new frontier opportunity in Baffin Bay together with our partners and in close cooperation with the Greenland authorities. The new licence increases the optionality in our arctic portfolio,” says Nicholas Alan Maden, senior vice president in Exploration international in Statoil.
The current work programme includes the interpretation of recently acquired seismic data. The first exploration period expires on 31 December 2014 and all initial work commitments have been fulfilled. The partnership will evaluate the seismic data prior to making a decision on drilling an exploration well. Cairn will retain operatorship at this stage, while Statoil will operate any future development. The agreement is subject to final partner and Greenlandic governmental approval.
In 1999, Statoil drilled an exploration well in the Fylla area west of Greenland. The company relinquished this exploration licence in 2002. Statoil is a member of the KANUMAS group in East Greenland.
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff, January 23, 2012; Image1: Cairn; Image2: Statoil