STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Statoil announced the doubling of the estimated oil reserves at its Aldous/Avaldsnes discovery in the North Sea made it "a giant."
Tim Dodson, executive vice president for exploration at the Norwegian energy company, announced that linkages between the Aldous and Avaldsnes discoveries confirmed it was a single reservoir.
"Aldous/Avaldsnes is a giant and one of the largest finds ever on the Norwegian continental shelf," he said in a statement.
Statoil said it estimated there were 900 million-1.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent there, twice the previous estimate of 400 million-800 million boe.
Further exploratory drilling planned by Statoil will yield more accurate volumes from the find, the company said.
The discovery extends over roughly 69 square miles in the North Sea. Statoil won the rights to explore the region in 2000.
In mid-October, British energy company BP announced it was investing billions of dollars in North Sea oil developments to exploit the Clair Ridge field west of the Shetland Islands. British Prime Minister David Cameron said the projects indicated continued interest in the North Sea region.
