The Offshore Technology Conference 2013 in Houston had a bit of a Norwegian flavor this year. Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, were on hand to help that country’s oil and gas industry celebrate its 40th year attending the conference, including a visit to Norway’s huge international pavilion presence.

But this is not the only thing the Norwegian energy industry is celebrating. Major discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), including in the Barents Sea, have bolstered the country’s international esteem, and it continues to expand its acreage options to continue its long-term development plans.

Ola Borten Moe, minister of petroleum and energy for Norway, talked to E&P about some of his country’s recent accomplishments and its plans for sustainable development in the future.

Barents Sea

Borten Moe said that the latest achievement for his country is the announcement that the government has presented a proposal to open up petroleum activity in the southeastern Barents Sea. The announcement comes after Norway’s wranglings with Russia over the delimitation lines were finally settled.

“We agreed with Russia three years ago,” he said. “This was the end of a process that had been going on for 40 years.”

The intervening years have involved geologic studies and environmental impact assessments, he added. The proposal is now in front of the Norwegian Parliament, and Borten Moe said he expected things to go smoothly. “There’s nothing to keep this from going forward,” he said.

According to information from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, there is considerable potential in the area, with an estimated 1.8 Bboe. This corresponds to almost eight fields the size of Eni’s Goliat field, scheduled to begin production soon. It also increases the amount of undiscovered resources in the Barents Sea by about 30%, according to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy website.

“Other parts of the Barents Sea are already open, and they’re not just fields in production – they have made some very interesting discoveries over the last few years,” he said. “We’re looking at developing a whole new province.”

He added that anticipation for the region is high. “It is my impression that oil companies are very interested in this new acreage,” he said. “There was huge interest in the 22nd round. These companies are aware of the potential of the Barents Sea.”

New discoveries

The country also is basking in the glow of major new discoveries, both in existing Barents Sea acreage and on the rest of the NCS. Most recently, Statoil announced a new oil discovery in the Grane field in the North Sea. Reports show that the well was drilled in License 169 B2 about 7 km (4.3 miles) north of the main field in the central part of the North Sea about 150 km (91 miles) west of Stavanger.

One of the objectives of the well, according to reports, was to check out possible communication between this wildcat well and the main field. The well encountered an oil column of 20 m (66 ft) in the Heimdal formation. Conservative estimates of the size of the discovery range between 17.6 MMboe and 32.7 MMboe of recoverable hydrocarbons.

Lundin Norge AS added to the potential Norwegian coffers in May by drilling a wildcat 15 km (9 miles) south of the Edvard Grieg field, also in the central North Sea. The well encountered a gross oil column of about 45 m (148 ft) in Jurassic to Triassic rocks, according to reports.

In April Statoil reported another oil discovery above the Gullfaks field in the Shetland group/Lista formation. After drilling the original well in 1987, Statoil recompleted it to perform shallower formation tests in December 2012. Preliminary reports gauge the discovery at between 37.7 MMboe and 151 MMboe, but the deposit could be significantly larger.

Offshore safety

Another recent announcement concerns the opening of a new blowout control technology center near Stavanger. The project was developed through the Subsea Well Response Project (SWRP). The equipment is designed to curb emissions from blowouts.

“I commend the industry for taking responsibility after Macondo for developing capping stack facilities,” Borten Moe said. “This gives companies the capacity to shut down wells. I think it’s very important work that has been done. It’s a broadening of their global work on HSE to increase that level offshore.”

In addition to the new European facility, there will be others in Asia, Africa, and South America, he said.

The SWRP is a collaboration run and funded by major oil companies such as BG, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Petrobras, Shell, Statoil, and Total. The equipment is designed to stop emissions from blowouts quickly and is part of an international response system that can be transported to offshore facilities by airplane or offshore vessel.

“The fact that well capping equipment is now located in Norway will facilitate a quicker response in the event of an incident in the North Atlantic,” Borten Moe said in a statement. “This underlies the importance of the Norwegian petroleum industry in a global context.”

Moving to the Arctic

With an advance into the Barents Sea and other icebound regions, one topic that is of great concern globally is the safe development of Arctic reserves. Borten Moe credited international oil companies (IOCs) in leading the way in this challenging new frontier.

“On the Norwegian shelf we encounter areas of constant ice,” he said. “It’s not just the Norwegian companies exploring these provinces. The big US-based companies, ConocoPhillips among them, are also very active, and we promote cooperation between the companies and different governments to develop those resources in a way that is as good as possible to develop the technology. I have faith in the work the IOCs are doing.

“Opposition to Arctic drilling is only natural – you are having a similar debate in the US,” he added. “At the same time, I think developing these resources internationally will be proactive. Over time it will give the ministry and the industry the necessary license to operate.”

Overall, Borten Moe sees Norway continuing its success well into the future. “There is outspoken optimism and energy in the industry and among the population,” he said. “There are some exciting wells that will be drilled this summer. We might have more good news.”