VIENNA, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Austrian energy company OMV said Friday it confirmed the discovery of new oil while drilling an exploration well in the shallow waters of the Barents Sea.
OMV said it made the discovery while working in exploration license PL 537 in the Barents Sea. The company said it estimated the size of the discovery in the area drilled at between 60 million and 160 million barrels of oil and at least 10 billion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.
It said further drilling was needed to confirm the full potential of the license area.
"The well results are a breakthrough for the regional exploration activities as the presence of good quality oil shows the possible large potential of an area, which will see more exploration drilling in the near future," it said in a statement.
Norwegian energy company Statoil was one of OMV's partners in the Barents Sea operation. It said the discovery in an area known as Wisting Central was encouraging. It said Friday it plans to drill two more wells in the same area in 2014.
Statoil said the discovery confirms a new oil reserve area in the Norwegian waters of the Barents Sea.
