Together with partner ConocoPhillips, Statoil has been awarded a deep-water exploration block in the Myanmar waters of Bay of Bengal. Block AD-10 covers more than 9,000km2, and is located 200km from the coast in water depths of approximately 2,000m. The license has been awarded to Statoil and ConocoPhillips, each with a 50% equity share and with Statoil as the operator.
“This is a large and virtually unexplored area in a basin with a proven petroleum system and thick sedimentary deposits. With this award, we have accessed at scale in another frontier acreage with significant upside, in line with our exploration strategy”, says Erling Vågnes, senior vice president for Statoil’s exploration in the Eastern hemisphere.
The award represents a new country entry for Statoil, now operating in 34 countries. Statoil has committed to environmental and social impact studies and acquiring new 2D seismic during the first study period of 2 1/2 years. After this, the partnership will decide whether to enter a three-year exploration period. “Our first steps will be to engage with the appropriate agencies and stakeholders and conduct the studies necessary for safe and secure acquisition of new seismic data. This is a long-term opportunity with high sub-surface risk, but with high-impact potential”, says Vågnes.
