Norway’s Statoil has been awarded four licences offshore the Nicaraguan Pacific. The licences cover an area of about 16,000 km2 in the largely unexplored Sandino Basin. Statoil will be the operator with 85% equity with the Empresa Nicaraguense del Petroleo (Petronic) participating with the remaining equity.

“Offshore the Nicaraguan Pacific is virtually untested and the awards of new acreage in this frontier area are in line with our exploration strategy of access at scale. This is a long-term opportunity with high subsurface uncertainty, but with impact potential. This position strengthens and develops a wide set of the optionality in Statoil’s long-term international portfolio”, says Nick Maden senior vice president for Statoil’s exploration activities in the Western Hemisphere.

The licence awards represent a country entry for Statoil into Nicaragua. Statoil says it now enters in an early exploration phase and with a step-wise exploration programme. The initial work commitments during the first exploration phase of 2 1/ 2 years include re-processing of 2D seismic, acquisition of new 2D seismic data and geology and geophysics (G&G) studies.

The information obtained from the initial studies and seismic survey will form the decision basis for Statoil’s next steps in the licences.

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com

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