Norwegian energy giant Statoil AS has scotched plans to become the operator of Intercampo oilfield on Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela after "disappointing" results were returned by a wildcat spudded by the Chinese National Petroleum Co. last December.
Statoil had the option of taking a 60% stake in Intercampo as operator, if drilling results had proved positive. However, the oil company's Intercampo project manager, Arnfinn Jøssang, said the well "did not contain sufficient oil to warrant further testing."
Intercampo lies southeast of the Chevron Corp.-operated LL-652 development, a field onstream since the 1950s which is being reactivated to boost production.
Statoil, Chevron, Phillips Petroleum Co., and Atlantic Richfield Co., a unit of BP, are involved in a project that is targeting a 10-fold increase in output from LL-652 by 2003-2004. The companies took over the field in July 1998, and aim to raise production to around 90,000 b/d from the present level of 8,000-9,000 b/d.
