OREANDA-NEWS.  This week, Statoil presents perspectives on its oil and gas operations on the Norwegian continental shelf. The company is on track to fulfil its ambition of producing more than 1.4 million barrels per day in Norway in 2020.

The perspectives are presented in connection with the company's site visit for investors and analysts at the corporate headquarters in Stavanger, Norway.

"The Norwegian continental shelf is the backbone of our company and will remain so for many years to come, based on proven and recoverable resources," says Torgrim Reitan, Statoil's chief financial officer.

"Our projects give us a solid foundation. We will continue to grow the cash flow from the region, demonstrate strong capital discipline and continue our efforts to maximize value creation across our portfolio," says Reitan.

Statoil operates more than 70 per cent of all oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf, including more than 40 assets in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea.

"With significant recent discoveries in both mature and frontier areas, exploration represents an additional upside potential for value creation in this important oil and gas region," says Reitan.

Statoil emphasizes that a predictable and stable fiscal framework is important to secure the attractiveness of continued investments on the Norwegian continental shelf. This is particularly important for marginal fields and fields which require significant investments in infrastructure.

Substantial positions in all three NCS basins

Statoil has established substantial industrial positions in all three NCS basins – from the more mature areas in the south, to the frontiers areas in the north.
"In the North Sea, we are progressing according to plan. Our recent discoveries here – like the giant Johan Sverdrup discovery, King Lear and the additional resources discovered at Gullfaks – further strengthen our position towards 2020," says Oystein Michelsen, executive vice president for Development & Production Norway in Statoil.

"In the Norwegian Sea, we now have received the formal approvals to open a new gas province in the deep sea part with the Aasta Hansteen project. This creates a new platform for longer term growth in this region," he says.

"We are pleased with the result of the recent 22nd license round and with the Government proposal to open the Barents Sea South East. It will require a significant effort to develop the opportunities that lie in this immature area. Our exploration programme in the Barents Sea continues," says Michelsen.

Global exploration "hot spot"

Statoil has delivered among the best exploration results in the global oil and gas industry over the past two years. The company emphasises that continued new discoveries are necessary to ensure long term NCS production.
"The Norwegian Continental shelf is currently a global exploration 'hot spot'. We will continue to explore and optimise our NCS portfolio, and maintain our efforts to maximise recovery from existing fields. However, in order to enable oil and gas activity in Norway also in the years after 2020, it is important to secure access to new prospective exploration acreage," says Michelsen.

Executing projects safely, on schedule and on cost

Since 2011, Statoil has added more than 400.000 million barrels per day in new capacity worldwide. Statoil is currently maturing a portfolio of more than 100 highly competitive projects.

"The top priority of our project organisation is to ensure that our projects are progressing safely, as planned – on cost and on schedule," says Margaret Ovrum, executive vice president for Technology, Projects and Drilling in Statoil.

Strong project execution is a result of systematic work: Focusing on early phase quality; standardisation and industrialisation to reduce cost and risk; cost discipline and efficiency; and improved planning and increased predictability for suppliers.

Statoil is working continuously to improve its health, safety and environment (HSE) performance. Year to date, the serious incident frequency for the project portfolio is 0.2 per million work hours.

"To do it right the first time is always the safest and the most efficient way of working. In that sense, strong HSE performance is also a good indicator of robust operations. However, we can never be satisfied in this area," says Ovrum.