STAVANGER, Norway, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Norway's Statoil said Tuesday it was taking the lead in assessing the reserve potential in the first new areas opened in the Barents Sea since 1994.
Statoil said it would serve as the operator in a venture that includes 17 other oil and natural gas companies examining the reserve potential in the southeastern Barents Sea.
"This is the first new area on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to be opened since 1994," the company said in a statement.
Statoil said Monday it made an oil discovery in part of the Johan Castberg field in the region. The company estimated the find contains 20 million to 50 million barrels of recoverable oil.
"Interest in the Barents Sea has increased considerably in recent years, due in part to the discoveries in the Johan Castberg area," Gro Haatvedt, a vice president in charge of offshore exploration, said in a statement. "High-quality 3D data will be important to the industry in order to increase understanding of the area's potential."
Statoil said the survey of the southeastern Barents Sea will begin in April.
