In February Statoil Færøyene AS moved into new premises in the capital Torshavn.
About 15 people work in this subsidiary, which was established in November. Last year the company was awarded operatorship for two exploration licences on the Faroese continental shelf – 003 and 006.
Preparations for this summer's drilling are well under way. Statoil and partners have committed themselves to drilling two exploration wells. The first will be drilled by the Transocean rig Sovereign Explorer in licence 003 in June. The well will be drilled in around 1000 metres water depth, approximately 180 kilometres south of Torshavn. The partners in the licence are Statoil (35 per cent), Phillips (30 per cent), Enterprise (20 per cent) and Veba Oil & Gas (15 per cent).
Vice president of Statoil Færøyene, Rúni M Hansen, says that the project has aroused a lot of interest among the 47,000 inhabitants of the Faroe Islands. This is the first time drilling will take place outside the chain of islands.
Mr Hansen, who is Faroese, took up his position at the beginning of the year. From 1997 he worked for Statoil in Denmark, where he was financial director for downstream activities, and also has experience from upstream activities.