A Norwegian regulator confirmed two separate oil and gas discoveries on Monday, the largest of which could contain at least 35 million barrels of oil.

Apart from Russia, Norway is the largest oil and natural gas producer for the European market, designating nearly all of its offshore output for exports.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate confirmed Monday that a regional subsidiary of Lundin Petroleum finished an appraisal operation at a discovery located about 12 miles south of the Edvard Grieg field, which is already in production in the North Sea.

Before drilling, Lundin estimated the reserve potential of the find at between 29 million and 73 million barrels of oil and as much as 100 billion cubic feet of natural gas. After drilling, the NPD raised that estimate by as much as 20 percent for oil, while keeping the estimate for natural gas in place.

"The licensees will evaluate the discovery as regards a potential development through linking the discovery to existing infrastructure on the Edvard Grieg field," the NPD stated.

Lundin, primarily a Norwegian oil and gas company, reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a proxy for net income, for the fourth quarter of $429.8 billion, a year-on-year improvement of 55 percent. Full-year EBIDTA of $1.5 billion nearly doubled from 2016.

Its total proved plus probable -- known in the industry as 2P reserves -- were 726 million barrels of oil equivalent as of Dec. 31. Total 2P reserves as of Dec. 31 reflected an increase of 45.8 million boe, or about 7 percent.

Separately, the NPD confirmed a discovery in the northern reaches of the Norwegian Sea for the regional subsidiary of German energy company Wintershall. The company was drilling in a frontier prospect, referred to as a wildcat well.

The NPD put the preliminary size of the discovery at between 7 and 22 million barrels of condensate, an ultra-light petroleum product, and between 245 billion and 670 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

"The licensees will evaluate the discovery together with other discoveries and prospects in the area with regard to a potential further development," the NPD stated.

For comparison, the United States, the world's largest economy, consumes about 20 million barrels of oil and 20 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

PetroChina triples its net profit, hands out big dividend
Shanghai (AFP) March 26, 2018
China's biggest oil producer PetroChina tripled its profit in 2017, rebounding on firmer crude prices, the company said, but its shares fell Friday as markets tumbled amid US-China trade tensions. Net profit last year rose to 22.8 billion yuan ($3.6 billion), compared to just 7.86 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in 2016, the company said in a statement late Thursday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where its shares are listed. PetroChina, 86 percent owned by its unlisted and government-controlled pa ... read more