The Norwegian company said drilling at well 25/8-18 S, had proved an oil column of 25 metres in the Heimal formation.

The discovery, first proven in 1992, contains between 30 and 80 million barrels of recoverable oil.

Statoil said one of the solutions for the discovery could be to tie in to the nearby Grane Field, which is seven kilometres away.

May-Liss Hauknes, Statoil vice president for exploration in the North Sea, said: “We are pleased with having proved new oil resources in the Grane area.

“Near-field exploration is an important part of Statoil’s exploration portfolio on the NCS.

“It provides high-value barrels that are important for extending the production life of existing installations.

“Well 25/8-18 S appraised the D-structure and proved substantial additional oil volumes in an excellent sandstone reservoir.

“This is a result of a recent re-evaluation of the area done by the partnership.

“New seismic and improved subsurface mapping have given us new confidence in the D-structure and allowed to mature it towards a drilling decision.”

Exploration well 25/8-18 S is located in PL169 in the North Sea and Statoil is operator with an interest of 57%.

Its partners include Petoro AS with a 30% share and ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Norway AS with a 13% stake

http://www.energyvoice.com/2014/10/statoil-wins-big-oil-discovery/