Statoil abandons North Sea oil well

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STAVANGER, Norway, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil announced it was shutting down its Glitne oil field in the North Sea after 12 years of operations.

The Norwegian company said a decision was made to close the field after a well drilled this year showed Glitne was no longer commercially viable.

"As the field's lifetime draws to a close, we are certain that all possible means of recovering its resources have been tried," Jannicke Nilsson, a vice president for North Sea operations at Statoil, said in a statement. "We are highly satisfied with the efforts made to recover the last remaining drops of oil on this field."

Glitne went on stream in 2001 with an expected lifespan of 26 months. Total production from the field was listed by Statoil at 55 million barrels, double the initial estimate.

Seven wells in the field will be plugged. Glitne is in the North Sea west of Stavanger in about 360 feet of water.

Norway is the largest oil producer in Europe.