Statoil has been awarded eight new exploration licenses on the UK continental shelf (UKCS).

Statoil was awarded operatorship of parts of licences 8/15 and 9/11D, close to the Statoil-operated Mariner heavy oil discovery, and six licences in blocks 212 and 213 near the Faroe border.

'We are very pleased to secure this new Statoil operated acreage in the UK,' says senior vice president for global exploration Tim Dodson.

'The North Sea blocks 8/15 and 9/11D will capture any north westerly extension of our Mariner oil discovery which Statoil is presently evaluating for development,' he says.

'The other blocks will further strengthen our position in the area between Statoil's licences in the Faroes and the Rosebank field in UK waters, where Statoil is a partner in the Chevron operated field.'

The requirement for the acreage near Mariner are 2D seismic survey and evaluation prior to a drill or drop decision, while for the Faroes/Rosebank blocks a drill or drop decision has do be made after reprocessing of existing 2D seismic.

Earlier last week, Britain’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has awarded 144 licenses under the UK’s 26th licensing round.

These licences cover 268 blocks, almost as many as the 303 awarded in the 25th Round.

Energy Minister Charles Hendry has said, “It’s encouraging to see the healthy level of interest there is from industry to make the most of the UK’s still substantial resources of oil and gas.

“Whilst in the long-term, we want to decarbonise our energy system, we have moved swiftly to offer these licences as we must realise the optimum value from the UK’s energy resources and ensure secure energy supplies.

“We remain absolutely vigilant and determined to ensure that exploration in our waters is done safely and with minimal impact to the environment.”

Following a screening exercise by DECC, it has been decided that 99 further blocks (comprised in 45 prospective licences) should be subject to more detailed assessments of the likely effects of oil and gas activities on certain protected nature conservation areas. A decision on whether to grant licences for these blocks will be subject to the results of the environmental assessments.

Tags: Statoil