Statoil ASA
(
STO
) has made an oil discovery in the Geitungen prospect in production
license 265 (PL265), offshore Norway.
The exploration well 16/2-12 − located between the Johan Sverdrup
discovery and the 16/2-9S Aldous Major North discovery in the
Norwegian part of the North Sea − is performing the drilling
operation in 6,759 feet (2,060 meters) below mean sea level. The
well was spud in late July by
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc.
's (
DO
) mid-water semisubmersible drilling rig Ocean Vanguard.
With this Geitungen exploration well, Statoil as well as its
project associates wish to prove the presence of oil-bearing
Jurassic sandstones that are similar to the Johan Sverdrup field.
Statoil operates the PL265 with a 40% interest, and its partners
Petoro, Lundin Petroleum and Det norske oljeselskap ASA hold 30%,
10% and 20% share respectively.
We have a favorable stance on Statoil's long-term production growth
given its growing upstream presence in the emerging basins of the
Caspian Sea, West Africa and the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Again, the company has operations in all major
hydrocarbon-producing regions of the world, with an emphasis on the
Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). We believe that Statoil is well
positioned to sustain its steady production growth for the next few
years on the back of its large resource base at NCS.
The Norwegian oil giant's second quarter equity and entitlement
production increased 17% and 20%, respectively, from the
year-earlier quarter. Of the total quarterly output, 64% was oil
and 36% was natural gas.
With a handful of high potential discoveries in its portfolio and
further attempts to expand its operation worldwide, Statoil is well
positioned to achieve its 2020 worldwide output target of 2.5
million barrels per day.
Again, Statoil's recent deal with Russian state-owned oil company
OAO Rosneft to jointly explore and develop Russian offshore
deposits in the Barents Sea and Sea of Okhotsk enables the duo to
conduct technical studies on two onshore Russian assets - West
Siberia's North-Komsomolskoye field and the Stavropol shale oil
play in south-west Russia. This enhances the companies' exploration
activities and bodes well for their future growth.
Statoil holds a Zacks #2 Rank, equivalent to a Buy rating for a
period of one to three months.
DIAMOND OFFSHOR (DO): Free Stock Analysis
Report
STATOIL ASA-ADR (STO): Free Stock Analysis
Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research