Oil production continues to fall. Making a determined effort to recover the oil resources from the large fields has become an urgent matter. If the licensees do not make the necessary decisions, profitable resources could be lost.

With the plans currently in place, 54 per cent of the oil will remain in the reservoirs. A mere one per cent increase in the recovery rate can generate an income of NOK 100-150 billion for the Norwegian society. The production is not replaced by new reserves to a sufficient extent.

Of the authorities' objectives of a reserve growth of 800 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of oil (five billion bbls oil) from 2005 to 2015, 64 million Sm3 (402 million bbls) of oil were recorded as new reserves in 2009. So far, a growth in oil reserves of 294 million Sm3 (1.85 billion bbls) has been achieved since 2005.

”The production will not appear magically. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is putting pressure on the oil companies to increase production from existing oil fields. This is good resource management, and it makes social economic sense,” says Director General Bente Nyland.

She is pleased that a record number of exploration wells were drilled last year, a total of 65 were spudded. An impressive 72 exploration wells were completed, leading to 21 new discoveries in the North Sea and seven new discoveries in the Norwegian Sea, which is also a record. However, most these discoveries are small.

Tags: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate