Aker Exploration take stake and accelerate drilling on Stetind
Aker Exploration has entered into an agreement with Chevron Norge AS to acquire a 12.5 percent ownership interest in license PL 283, which includes the Stetind discovery in the Norwegian Sea. Drilling start-up of the second exploration well on PL283 is scheduled for 1Q 2008.“We are accelerating Aker Exploration’s original drilling schedule. Drilling of our first exploration well is now set for the first quarter of 2008. Our unique business model has resulted in this exciting new license interest in acreage where significant resources have already been identified,” says Aker Exploration’s President and CEO Bård Johansen.
In the autumn of 2005, gas and condensate were discovered in exploration well 6605/8-1 in the Stetind prospect, located northwest of the Norne field in the Norwegian Sea. According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the discovery could potentially represent resources of some 180 million boe (barrels of oil equivalent).
Under the agreement with Chevron Norge AS, Aker Exploration will acquire half of Chevron’s original 25 percent participation in PL283. As payment for its 12.5 percent ownership stake, Aker Exploration will carry Chevron Norge’s license expenses for the remaining work obligations on PL283. Depending on the results of the second exploration well the license plan may call for the drilling of a third exploration well.
“The Stetind acquisition is aligned with our focus on attractive prospects in northern provinces of the Norwegian continental shelf. If second exploration well confirms the presence of recoverable resources, the Aker Barents rig could be deployed to drill the next well,” says Mr. Johansen.
