STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil said Wednesday its success in productivity was buoyed by an oil discovery made this year off Canada.
"Statoil delivered strong strategic progress in the third quarter," Helge Lund, Statoil president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. "We added high value barrels through the Bay du Nord discovery offshore Canada, the world's largest oil discovery this year."
Statoil said it estimates its Bay du Nord exploration well off the eastern Canadian coast holds 300 million to 600 million barrels of recoverable oil.
The Bay du Nord prospect is about 12 miles south of the company's Mizzen discovery. That discovery, which Statoil announced last year, is estimated to hold at least 100 million barrels of oil.
Statoil said its production outside Norway increased 13 percent to 728 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. For the year, it expects to complete around 60 exploration wells.
"We are producing as planned, and maintain our production guidance for 2013," Lund said. "Our activity level is high."
