A consortium led by Chevron has been awarded exploration licenses covering two blocks offshore north-east Greenland.
Consortia led by Statoil and ENI were also awarded licenses, covering one block each, also off north-eastern Greendland, in the country’s latest licensing round.
Greenland’s Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum had received three applications in the round.
Those awarded licenses are:
Speaking about its award, Statoil said the license had a 16-year exploration period. The first work carried will be seismic acquisition, after which decisions on further work will be made.
Image: Block 6, to be led by Statoil
Statoil will hold 52.5%, ConocoPhillips will have 35% and Nunaoil will have 12.5%.
Statoil has carried out both shallow core drilling and scientific work in block 6, to understand the operating environment.
“We have been present in Greenland since the late 1980s and are constantly building experience and knowledge,” said Runi M. Hansen, Statoil country manager for Greenland and the Faroes. “We are taking a stepwise approach to the Arctic, building on more than 30 years of experience from the harsh environment of the Norwegian continental shelf and other Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.
“Adding this license to our portfolio is part of our long-term Arctic positioning and development of new technology is a pre-requisite for any future operations in this license. We recognize that this is a challenging area, but it is also potentially prospective. And we believe that Arctic resources in the future will become important to meeting the world’s energy demand. Being in a frontier area, this license is a long-term project for Statoil and the company will follow its stepwise approach, not going faster than technology allows," says Hansen.
In the 1990s, Statoil drilled an exploration well in the Fylla area west of Greenland – but the company relinquished this exploration license in 2002. Statoil is also partner in three licenses - Anu, Napu and Pitu - in the Baffin Bay west of Greenland.
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