Another discovery has made by operator BP in block 31 off Angola, where Statoil has a 13.33 per cent interest.
This strike has been given the name Palas-1, report BP and state oil company Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola (Sonangol).
The Plutão, Saturno, Marte and Venus discoveries have already been made in the block. These four lie close to each other, and the licensees are considering a unified field development.
Palas-1 lies 62 kilometres south-east of Plutão, and BP says that a good deal of work remains to be done to evaluate it in greater detail.
“This discovery represents another important step towards possible new developments in block 31,” says Morten Sola, exploration manager for western Africa in Statoil’s International Exploration & Production business area.
The Palas-1 wildcat was drilled in 1,602 metres of water to a total depth of 3,745 metres by the Leiv Eiriksson semi-submersible.
In addition to block 31, Statoil has 13.33 per cent interests in blocks 15 and 17 off Angola.