A new discovery in Block 15/06 offshore Angola

"Although StatoilHydro only holds a 5% stake in block 15/06, this is an important venture for us, enabling us to deepen our knowledge of the deep water reservoir in Angola," says Global Exploration Senior Vice President Tim Dodson.

"A thorough understanding of the deep water reservoir is critical for continued exploration success in Angola as we move to more challenging exploration targets that can add new volumes around potential producing hubs in our prolific blocks 15, 17, and 31 as well as blocks 4 and 15/06."

"So far this year 6 of 11 wells in Angola have encountered hydrocarbons that should contribute to production. I am very pleased with these results and I am convinced that this prolific basin will continue to deliver significant volumes to StatoilHydro for many years to come," says Dodson.

The well was drilled to a total depth of 2,830 metres and encountered oil in sands of Miocene age with excellent reservoir characteristics. During production tests, the well produced oil at rates in excess of 6500 barrels of oil per day. The drilling operation was carried out in water depths of 500 metres.

Four exploration wells have been drilled on the block, three of these (Sangos, N’Goma and Cabaça Norte) resulted in discoveries. The Cabaça Norte well results exceeded pre-drill expectations, and it has the potential to become the largest find in Block 15/06 to date.

Eni has a 35% working interest and is the operator of Block 15/06, with Sonangol E&P the concessionaire. Other partners are Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção (15%), SSI Fifteen Limited (20%), Total (15%), Falcon Oil Holding Angola SA (5%), Petrobras International B.V. (5%) and StatoilHydro (5%).

Angola is a key building block for StatoilHydro’s international production growth. StatoilHydro has been present in Angola for 17 years and participates in nine producing fields, which contribute more than 200,000 barrels of StatoilHydro equity oil production per day.