Statoil gives bleak assessment on NCS

STAVANGER, Norway, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Developments in the Norwegian continental shelf will focus on maintenance as the number of independent projects decline, officials at Statoil said.

Stale Tungesvik, senior vice president for reserves and business development in Statoil, told a delegation of operators in the Norwegian continental shelf that his company was looking to smaller offshore fields that could be more challenging to develop.

"The 2009 investments have been (at a) record high," he said. "Statoil's goal is to sustain production on the NCS at the current level in the years ahead."

He said the goal for the Norwegian giant was to find sound solutions for its partners in the offshore environment.

"In turbulent times this requires a lot of us as the operator, and finding solutions may also take longer than our surroundings may expect," he said.