Wintershall declared an oil discovery in the southern part of the Norwegian North Sea about 200 kilometers off the coast of Stavanger. The own-operated Asha Noor appraisal wells 16/1-16 and its delineation 16/1-16 A in production licence PL 457 were drilled about 3 kilometers east of the 16/1-9 discovery well in the Ivar Aasen discovery and about 3 kilometers north of the Edvard Grieg field. Preliminary resource estimates range between 20 and 40 million barrels of recoverable oil. Extensive coring, sampling and data acquisition have been carried out. The results will now be evaluated to further determine resources and the commerciality of the discovery.

'Asha Noor is our third oil discovery in Norway in the last 12 months. After our discoveries with the Maria appraisal well and Skarfjell, the Asha Noor discovery provides further confirmation that the Utsira High region offers considerable potential', Martin Bachmann, Member of the Wintershall Board of Executive Directors responsible for Exploration and Production commented. Wintershall, with a portfolio of over 40 licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf including more than 20 operatorships, aims to raise its daily production on the Norwegian and British continental shelf from its current level of around 4,000 barrels to 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) by 2015.

Tags: Wintershall