A number of oil companies including Statoil and GDF Suez are set to collaborate on solving operational tasks tied to exploration in the Barents Sea.
The project, called BaSEC (Barents Sea Exploration Collaboration) will initially last for around three years.
It will cover the Barents Sea, with a special focus on the areas which have been included in the 23rd licensing round.
Other companies involved include Eni Norge, Lundin Norway and OMV.
Statoil’s Irene Rummelhoff, senior vice president for exploration in Norway, said: “We are taking operational responsibility seriously and have connected leading companies with operations in the Barents Sea to work together to find good and robust solutions for the tasks we see ahead, especially considering the new areas that have been opened in the Barents Sea south-east.”
The project was initiated by both Statoil and Eni Norge and will be led by the former in its first phase.
The move will see the companies aim to find common solutions for operations in the Barents Sea, and through that contribute to high level of safety and emergency response.
Rummelhoff added: “Our goal is to increase coordination and develop cost-effective solutions for exploration in the Barents Sea in both the short and medium term.
“We will collaborate with authorities, industry organisations and other relevant institutions to deliver on this.
“We aim to be effective and address the concrete actions that need to be taken and share relevant solutions and data with both the authorities and the rest of the industry.
“It is in our common interest to have robust exploration activity in the North Sea.”