Statoil To Be Back To Norway-UK Agreement

A positive view is taken by Statoil of proposals presented at the Offshore Northern Seas conference on August 28th, for increased offshore collaboration between Norway and the UK.

Greater cooperation in the North Sea is the theme of a report put forward by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in Oslo and Britain's Department of Trade and Industry. This study has been drawn up by Norway's Konkraft industry collaboration and its UK sister organization Pilot in a bid to exploit synergies between the two countries.

"The UK is a big gas market for us," says Statoil executive vice president Henrik Carlsen. "It's important that the authorities lay the basis for the best transport solutions so we can reach it. "Given the opportunities offered by cross-border collaboration, it's important for us that this work doesn't come to a stop."

Konkraft and Pilot have also looked at the opportunities to cooperate on developing new fields to get more out of resources across the national boundary in the North Sea. Statoil's Gudrun discovery in the Sleipner area has been used as a case study for the way UK infrastructure could be one option for a development. "By removing barriers to developing fields across the boundary, the supplies industry can win more work," says Mr. Carlsen.

The working party has also looked at opportunities for increased standardization between the two countries in the offshore sector. Close cooperation has been established between companies working on the two continental shelves over health, safety and the environment to get the best out of national rules and practice. According to the working party, closer collaboration between Norway and the UK could lead to savings in the order of US $2 billion on operation, removal costs and development spending. A treaty will now be drawn up to remove any barriers which might exist to shaping the best possible solutions.

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