Statoil Faerøyene AS started drilling the Longan well off the Faroe Islands yesterday, 11 July. This is the first well ever to be drilled off the Faroes.
Rolf Magne Larsen is senior vice president for international exploration.
"It is an honour to be a party to the opening of a new area for oil and gas exploration," says Rolf Magne Larsen.
"This is an important development for the Faroes and its people."
The Longan well is located in the Atlantic Margin area, stretching from Western Ireland to Norway, where Statoil holds substantial exploration acreage. The water depth for this operation exceeds 900 metres.
"We have used Statoil's extensive experience as an operator in the North Sea in our preparations for the drilling. We therefore feel confident that the operations will be efficient and have minimal impact on the environment," says Mr Larsen.
Statoil Faerøyene is drilling the Longan well on licence 003, which was awarded to the company by The Ministry of Petroleum of The Faroe Islands in August 2000. The prospect is located 130 kilometres south-east of the Faroes, close to the UK continental shelf. The rig used for the Faroese drilling is the semi submersible Sovereign Explorer.
Statoil Faerøyene is operator and holds 35 per cent of the licence. The other partners in the licence are Phillips Petroleum Europe Exploration (30 per cent), Enterprise Oil Exploration (20 per cent) and Veba Oil & Gas Faroes (15 per cent).