OREANDA-NEWS.  Statoil, along with partners ConocoPhillips and Nunaoil, has been awarded block 6 in the East Greenland license round. Statoil will be operator of the block.

Block 6 is located offshore north-east Greenland in a frontier area. Statoil will hold 52.5%, ConocoPhillips will have 35% and Nunaoil will have 12.5%.

“We have been present in Greenland since the late 1980s and are constantly building experience and knowledge. We are taking a stepwise approach to the Arctic, building on more than 30 years of experience from the harsh environment of the Norwegian continental shelf and other Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Adding this licence to our portfolio is part of our long-term Arctic positioning and development of new technology is a pre-requisite for any future operations in this licence," says Runi M. Hansen, Statoil country manager for Greenland and the Faroes.

The licence has a 16-year exploration period. The first work carried out is seismic acquisition, after which decisions on further work will be made. Statoil has carried out both shallow core drilling and scientific work in the area previously to understand the operating environment.

"We recognise that this is a challenging area, but it is also potentially prospective. And we believe that Arctic resources in the future will become important to meeting the world’s energy demand. Being in a frontier area, this licence is a long-term project for Statoil and the company will follow its stepwise approach, not going faster than technology allows," says Hansen.

This is not the first time Statoil has carried out activities in Greenland. In the 1990s, Statoil drilled an exploration well in the Fylla area west of Greenland – but the company relinquished this exploration license in 2002. Statoil is also partner in three licences - Anu, Napu and Pitu - in the Baffin Bay west of Greenland.

Statoil already holds offshore positions in Arctic conditions in Norway, Russia, the US and Canada.