Dana Petroleum, the Aberdeen-based oil and gas operator, said yesterday that its Dana Petroleum Norway subsidiary had been awarded interests in eight Norwegian offshore blocks.
The company has gained the stakes under four new licences given to it and partners by Norway’s ministry of petroleum and energy in the latest licensing round.
Dana chief executive Tom Cross said: “Dana is delighted to have won these attractive new licences, which significantly extends our exploration programme in Norway’s proven oil and gas areas.
“In addition, Dana has applied for licences in Norway’s 20th round where the focus is on the less mature, frontier areas. The awards for the 20th round are expected during the first quarter of 2009.
“Overall, Dana now holds a substantial position offshore Norway, with 14 production licences on the Norwegian continental shelf covering 25 blocks.”
The company’s new licence areas are in block 2/9, in which it has a 40% interest, with Dana as operator; blocks 7/7, 7/8 and 7/11, where it has a 25% interest, with Det Norske as operator; block 25/7 with a 38.5% interest and Det Norske again as operator; and blocks 6506/6, 6507/1 and 6507/4, where it has a 50% stake and Maersk Oil is operator.
The first three licences are in the North Sea and the fourth is in the Norwegian Sea. Block 2/9 is located in Norway’s southern North Sea (SNS), close to the Valhall/ Ekofisk area where Dana already holds a licence.
Blocks 7/7, 7/8 and 7/11 are located in the SNS and close to several producing fields in the UK sector as well as between discoveries in the UK and Norway.
Block 25/7 is adjacent to Dana’s Jotun producing oil field (Dana 45%) and neighbouring exploration licences where Dana holds a 40% interest. Dana said this was a highly prospective area within a short tieback distance of the Jotun floating production vessel.
The blocks 6506/6, 6507/1 and 6507/4 are immediately west of the large Victoria gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea.
It added that all the awards received were on Dana’s top priority list for the licensing round. Work programmes include firm wells on the two licences on which Det Norske is operator.