STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil said it wants to install a new drilling platform in the Snorre field in the North Sea to extract what's left there.
"The platform solution is the best alternative for maximizing production and creating the greatest possible value [for Snorre]," Oystein Michelsen, Statoil executive vice president for the Norwegian shelf, said in a statement Monday.
Statoil says it is working with its regional and international partners to extend the life of the Snorre field to 2040. A second platform was installed in the 1990s, helping Statoil raise the reserve estimate from 760 million to 1.55 billion barrels of oil.
Michelsen said an increase in tax on energy operations in the country, adopted in May, undermines the financial aspects of Snorre's development.
"[This] means we have to spend more time on maturing the project," he said.
Statoil says a concept decision on new platform development is expected by the first quarter of 2015.
The Norwegian government says it expects 1.8 million barrels of crude oil, natural gas liquids and condensate per day to be produced from its territory in 2014. Gas production should reach 3.7 trillion cubic feet for the year.
