Norwegian oil giant Statoil ASA’s (STO) share price dropped by a penny on its announcement that a consortium of 33 oil firms have awarded contracts for seismic acquisition in the southeastern Barents Sea to PGS and Schlumberger Limited’s (SLB) WesternGeco. Statoil operates the project for joint acquisition of seismic 3D data from this region for application to the 23rd round in a resource-efficient manner.
The appraisal includes blocks proposed for the 23rd oil licensing round on Norway’s Continental Shelf and spans about 13,700 square kilometers. This is the first time that Southeast Barents Sea, an offshore zone that borders Russia, is being made accessible to oil firms. 3D data obtained from
The survey is scheduled to begin in April and continue through the second and third quarters of 2014. Later, the data will be processed until the summer of 2015.
A well synchronized project is likely to have very low acquisition costs and guarantees high data quality as it utilizes the companies’ collective professional proficiency within geological understanding and seismic acquisition and processing.
The surveys will employ broadband technology. This will translate into better resolution on the seismic data and a more comprehensive analysis of the subsurface.
In recent times, Statoil has delivered strong exploration results, adding significantly to its resource base by making several high impact discoveries. The latest finds give the company access to new regions of Norway, Russia, Azerbaijan, Tanzania as well as Australia. These strengthen the company’s position and pave way for profitable long-term growth.
Statoil carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Other stocks in the oil and gas industry worth considering include Warren Resources Inc. (WRES) and Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN). All three have a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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