Austrian OMV has reportedly upped initial size estimates of its Wisting discovery, sitting in the Barents Sea, offshore Norway.
According to Reuters, OMV’s Norway boss David Latin said at an energy conference on Thursday that the Wisting project might contain more than one billion barrels of oil.
To remind, according to data from September, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate estimated the Wisting discovery to contain 241 million boe of recoverable resources.
The Wisting discovery was made back in 2013 in license PL537 with several successful appraisal wells completed after the initial discovery.
Reuters on Wednesday cited OMV’s Latin who said that the field might start production in 2024 or 2025.
That Wisting might be attractive, speaks the fact that Norway’s largest oil company Statoil in September increased its interest in the field, through an acquisition of stake from Tullow oil.
Following the acquisition Statoil has become the biggest equity holder in the Wisting discovery with a 35% stake, so far the only big discovery in the Hoop area of the Barents Sea. OMV as the operator holds 25%.
As for the development options, OMV recently awarded Sevan Marine a study to evaluate its cylindrical hull FPSO design for application on the Wisting field development, located 310 kilometers north of Hammerfest. These studies are expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
Offshore Energy Today Staff