An agreement has been signed by Statoil and the University of Stavanger (UiS), the International Research Institute of Stavanger (Iris) and three universities in Houston for strengthening the effort on improved oil and gas recovery.
The agreement was signed during the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston on 2 May.
The UiS and Iris have sent an application to the Norwegian authorities for funding of innovative research and the three universities in Houston have sent equivalent applications to the US authorities. The Norwegian application amounts to NOK 10 million annually over a 10-year period and requires an equivalent contribution from the industry.
Øivind Reinertsen, senior vice president for Statoil's activity in the Gulf of Mexico, signed the agreement on behalf of Statoil.
He said that most of the readily available oil resources have already been produced, and that future oil production will require more knowledge behind each barrel.
"The cooperation with the universities in Stavanger and Houston will give Statoil access to research results that could contribute to improving recovery," Mr Reinertsen says. "The research will focus on how tomorrow's wells will be drilled and completed. Through the cooperation we will particularly support the exchange of doctorate students between the two universities."