Low oil prices taking toll on Norway drilling

 Employees of the Swedish company Lundin work on an oil derrick 21 September 2005, in Poligny, some 50 kilometers from Paris. (Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty Images)
Employees of the Swedish company Lundin work on an oil derrick 21 September 2005, in Poligny, some 50 kilometers from Paris. (Damien Meyer/AFP/Getty Images)
The low oil price takes its toll on the Norwegian shelf.

Companies are significantly reducing their activity level in Norway as the oil price remains on low level.

In 2015, the number of well drillings will be almost 30 percent lower than in 2014. This year, a total of 40 wells will be drilled compared with 56 last year, E24.no reports. Statoil is the company with the biggest drop in activities with a near 50 percent cut in the number of wells.

The state-owned company will in 2015 drill between 12-18 wells compared with 28 last year. About 2/3 of the new wells will be drilled with operator responsibilies.

Must take ‘long term view,’: company

Swedish oil company Lundin will this year be the second-most active company with ten new well drillings. In 2014, the company drilled 13 wells, several of them with successful discoveries.

Lundin, which over the last years has been the most successful explorer in Norwegian waters, stresses that it still has high expectations from the Norwegian shelf.

“Oil prices are cyclical, and history shows that it can fluctuate widely and be difficult to predict. In our industry, we must sit tight and apply a long term view,” says Managing Director of Lundin Norway, Torstein Sanness.

Four of Lundin Norway’s planned exploration and appraisal wells in 2015 will be drilled in the southern Barents Sea. In 2014, the company made a significant discovery on the Alta prospect  in the Loppa High area. Two appraisal wells are to be drilled on this discovery. In addition, wild cat wells in production licences PL609 (Neiden) and PL708 (Ørnen) are scheduled during 2015, a press release reads.

Related stories from around the North:

Canada:  Canadian province of Quebec announces plan for northern development, Eye on the Arctic

Finland:  Does Nordea’s divesting of coal shares signal shift in Nordic market?, Yle News

Norway:  Norway summons Russian Ambassador, Barents Observer

Russia: Russia protests drilling in Svalbard zone, Barents Observer

Sweden: Relocation of Arctic town underway in Sweden, Radio Sweden

United States:  Alaska – Judge temporarily halts EPA process on Pebble Mine, Alaska Dispatch

Atle Staalesen, The Independent Barents Observer

For more news from the Barents region visit The Independent Barents Observer.

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