Dana Petroleum Norway AS has secured five licenses in the 2011 APA licensing round on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Dana says that drilling has commenced on the Storebjørn prospect in license PL 450 Block 7/12 in the Norwegian North Sea.

Three of the offers - PL 513B, PL 597B and PL 649 - are adjacent to the forthcoming Albert well, which the company plans to drill in the third quarter of 2012. The areas cover six blocks or part blocks in quadrant 6506 in the Norwegian Sea. Dana has been offered equity interests of 30-50% in these licenses operated by Maersk Oil Norway and VNG Norge. Dana already holds interests in PL 513 and PL 597 in the same area.

PL 651, located northeast in the Helgeland basin, has been awarded to Dana together with E.ON Ruhrgas Norge (40% and operator) and Spring Energy Norway (35%). Dana's interest is 25% covering four blocks in quadrant 6610 in the Norwegian Sea.

The final award is a 40% interest in PL 494C, an extension to licenses PL 494 and PL 494B, operated by Dana with partners Det norske oljeselskap (30%) and Bridge Energy Norge (30%).

Dana is also pleased to announce that drilling has commenced on the Storebjørn prospect in license PL 450 Block 7/12 in the Norwegian North Sea. Dana holds a 25% interest in the license operated by Det norske oljeselskap (60%) where North Energy (15%) is also a partner. The Maersk Guardian rig is being used to drill the well.

Dana's Managing Director in Norway, John M Dahlen said: 'We are pleased to have secured this new acreage. Quadrant 6506 and PL 494 both provide additional prospective acreage adjacent to forthcoming exploration wells. Quadrant 6610 also offers the potential for us to open up acreage in the eastern Norwegian Sea.'

'Storebjørn is the first of four exploration wells Dana will drill in Norway over the next nine months, following a less active drilling period in 2011. We will also participate in two concession rounds in 2012, where we have identified several prospective areas for the 22nd round, particularly in the Barents Sea. The Barents Sea is a largely underexplored area but several recent discoveries and the new formerly disputed area in the East gives additional acreage to be explored in coming rounds.'

Tags: Dana Petroleum