Statoil, together with partners in the Oseberg Area Unit, has made a small oil discovery in the production license PL053 in the North Sea.

Statoil said that the Oseberg partners are in the process of concluding drilling operations in the exploration well 30/6-28S.

The well drilled by the rig COSLPioneer (mid-water semisub) proved an oil column of around 40 feet (12 meters) in the Statfjord Formation. The estimated volume of the discovery is in the range of 12-18 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents.

"The oil discovery is located beneath the Oseberg field and is a good candidate to be connected to the Oseberg production facilities. These could be fast and high-value barrels for the partnership," said Knut Henrik Dalland, Statoil's vice president of operations for Oseberg.

Tags: Statoil