StatoilHydro has signed an agreement with Lundin Petroleum, under which StatoilHydro will acquire a 30% interest in exploration licenses PL359 and PL410, both located in the Utsira High area in Norwegian North Sea, plus a 10% interest in PL409.
According to the company, the licenses are located close to the Luno discovery in PL338, the Ragnarrock discovery in PL265 and existing StatoilHydro-operated infrastructure on Sleipner and Grane fields.
The agreement also involves a swap of rig capacity between StatoilHydro and Lundin Petroleum. The implementation of the agreement is subject to the approval of government authorities, said the company.
Tove Sjoblom, StatoilHydro’s senior vice president for exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf, said: This transaction is another step towards strengthening StatoilHydro’s position in an exploration area on the Norwegian continental shelf where several interesting discoveries have been made in recent years.
Recently, the company said that the Caesar Tonga Project has been sanctioned by the StatoilHydro board. The Anadarko operated Caesar Tonga development consists of three discoveries, Tonga and Tonga West which were acquired in 2005 as part of the EnCana acquisition and Caesar which was acquired from Plains in 2006.
