Appraisal well confirms North Sea oil find off Norway

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate announced an appraisal well has been confirmed, according to the Associated Press. The so-called Jordbaer prospect in the North Sea contains some 56-80 million barrels of oil. Project partner Revus Energy ASA was even more optimistic, estimating the size of the find at 87-140 million barrels of recoverable oil if projections for a so-far untested portion of the field prove correct. Norway currently produces around two million barrels of oil per day. The find by BG Norge ASA, an oil company operating the field on behalf of project partners, was drilled in the northern North Sea, about 28 miles north of StatoilHydro ASA''s Snorre field. The well just completed confirms the discovery made by the wildcat well at the same field in August. Norway, a major exporter of oil and gas, awarded the Jordbaer exploration license in 2005 as part of the government drive to encourage oil companies to search for more oil near existing fields. That could offset declining production at a lower cost if the oil could be produced by linking the find to an already producing platform.