By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON, Dec. 6 --Norway's Statoil ASA has entered into long-term area cooperation agreements with the Royal Dutch/Shell Group and Enterprise Oil Ltd. to take part in the 17th licensing round on the Norwegian continental shelf, due to be announced before the end of the year.
Statoil Executive Vice-Pres. Henrik Carlsen said, "The three companies have considerable expertise unique to each of them, and the collaboration will make us even stronger."
Carlsen, who heads Statoil's E&P Norway business area, spoke at a company seminar in Kristiansund. He stressed the fact that one of the main priorities of the companies, which already are involved in several joint projects, is to take important environmental issues into consideration when carrying out the work of mapping the blocks in the 17th round.
The Norwegian government plans to announce blocks for the licensing round in December and award them in the summer of 2002.
Carlsen also stressed the importance for Statoil to develop the industrial complex at Tjeldbergodden in mid-Norway. He went on to say that the landing of gas from Heidrun field in the Norwegian Sea laid the foundation for the industrial application of gas for the production of methanol in the region.
"We are working to make Tjeldbergodden a competitive site for the landfall of gas from the Ormen Lange field in the Norwegian Sea. The Norwegian continental shelf is Statoil's strategic core area, and mid-Norway offers the group some interesting opportunities for growth."
