A 40 per cent stake has been secured by Statoil in a licence west of Shetland as part of Britain’s 19th offshore licensing round awards.
Phillips is operator for this acreage in block 176/25, about 30 kilometres west of BP’s producing Foinaven field. The water depth in the area is roughly 900 metres.
Phillips Petroleum has a 45 per cent interest in the licence, with Veba Oil & Gas holding the remaining 15 per cent.
Statoil applied for three blocks in the 19th round, all with Phillips as operator.