Statoil has made a discovery of light, high-quality oil in the Flemish Pass Basin, offshore Newfoundland.

Oil was encountered while drilling the Harpoon prospect (EL 1112), located approximately 500 kilometres north-east of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

"While it is still too early to determine Harpoon's resource potential at this time, this is very encouraging for the area and especially for the Bay du Nord well planned for later this year," says Erik Finnstrom, senior vice president for Exploration North America in Statoil.

Finnstrom explains that Statoil's exploration strategy to test high-impact oil prospects in the Flemish Pass Basin is on target and that the Harpoon results will contribute to a greater understanding of the area.

"We anticipate there will be further appraisal drilling to mature this discovery in the future," states Finnstrom. "We will continue to build this area as a core exploration region for Statoil."

The Harpoon discovery was drilled by the semi-submersible rig West Aquarius, in approximately 1,100 metres of water.

Tags: Statoil