Statoil Gets Gas Exploration Permit Offshore Australia

Norwegian energy company Statoil on Friday said it has been awarded gas exploration permit in the Northern Carnarvon Basin on the Northwest shelf of Australia.

“This award adds another large acreage position with high-impact potential to our global portfolio, in line with our exploration strategy. This is an untested part of a prolific basin, offering significant upside potential,” said Erling Vågnes, Statoil’s senior vice president for exploration in the Eastern hemisphere.

This is Statoil’s third asset in Australia, adding to the onshore operatorship in the Northern Territory’s South Georgina basin and four BP-operated offshore permits in the Great Australian Bight.

The permit WA-506-P covers an area of more than 13,000 square kilometres, situated 300 kilometres off Western Australia in water depths of 1,500-2,000 metres. The permit has been awarded to Statoil by the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) through the 2013 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release.

The company said it will collect 2,000 line kilometres of 2D seismic and 3,500 square kilometres of 3D seismic data within three years.