Norway approves North Sea Vigdis field expansion
Date: 23-Dec-02
Country: NORWAY
Norway's state-controlled oil and gas group Statoil (STL.OL) is due to take over operatorship of the Vigdis field and the extension from rival Norsk Hydro (NHY.OL) from January 1.
The Vigdis extension's economically exploitable resources are estimated at nine million standard cubic metres of oil and one billion standard cubic metres of gas, the oil ministry said in a statement.
"The project attends to environmental and fishery concerns in a fully acceptable manner and has robust economic prospects," Oil and Energy Minister Einar Steensnaes said in the statement.
He added that the project was important for the long-term development of the Norwegian petroleum industry.
The current Vigdis operator Norsk Hydro (NHY.OL) has calculated total investments in the project at 2.68 billion Norwegian crowns ($376.9 million), the ministry said.
