Statoil Increases Interest in Snøhvit Gas Field

Norwegian oil company Statoil has announced that it has increased its stake in the Snøhvit gas field in the Barents Sea due to its acquisition of Hess Energy's 3.26 percent stake in the field. The acquisition brings Statoil's total interest in the field to 36.79 percent.

Statoil will acquire Hess's stake in four production licences, PL110B, PL110C, PL448 and PL488, as well as the nearby Hammerfest LNG plant in Melkøya on the Norwegian mainland. 

Executive Vice president for Development and Production for Norway Øystein Michelsen said that the acquisition represented Statoil's interest in increasing and developing its long-term yield from the gas field.

"Snøhvit is a long-term field with substantial remaining resources located in an area that has been revitalised through recent discoveries and the delineation agreement between Russia and Norway," he said.

"This acquisition is a new step in building our position in the Barents Sea, an area that is expected to be of significant importance to Statoil in the future. Snøhvit is a large field that will yield production, activity and value creation for at least 30-40 years."

Mr. Michelsen said that the Norwegian Continental Shelf continued to represent one of the most important oil and gas regions in the world, one which must be developed further.

"The Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) has during 2011 proved to be one of the most prospective oil and gas regions globally as a result of major discoveries such as Skrugard in the Barents Sea and the giant North Sea discovery Aldous/Avaldsne," he said. But we also strongly believe that the NCS holds many inorganic growth opportunities through acquisitions, divestments and swaps of existing fields."

Statoil will hold a 36.79 percent stake in the Snøhvit field post transaction. The company is partnered by Petoro (30%), Total (18.4%), GDF Suez (12%) and RWE Dea (2.81%).