Lundin: More hope for Barents Sea reserves

New drilling operations in the Barents Sea confirmed the possibility exists for the region to be a commercial success, Lundin Petroleum said.

The company, which has its headquarters in Sweden, said it found between 125 million and 400 million barrels of oil equivalent after drilling a new appraisal well into the Alta prospect in the Barents Sea. The well is the first of three planned for the area.

Lundin said it aims to show there are enough resources in the area to make a commercial development.

The company made its initial discovery in the Alta prospect, about 100 miles from the Norwegian coast, last year. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the regulator that confirmed the discovery, placed the reserve estimate at between 85 million and 315 million barrels of recoverable oil and 175 billion and 600 billion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.

The Norwegian government estimates there are roughly 18 billion barrels of oil equivalent yet to be discovered in Norwegian waters and half of that is in the Barents Sea. In late August, Norwegian energy major Statoil said it was extending its reach into the Barents Sea with plans to drill up to seven new wells next year.

Lundin in early September was given consent by the Norwegian government to start drilling in the Filicudi prospect in the Barents Sea, a reserve area the company estimated to hold about 258 million barrels of gross oil equivalent.

Lundin CEO Alex Schneiter said the results from Alta were promising enough to keep moving forward with exploitation plans.

"Further appraisal over the Alta discovery will be required during 2017 to fully delineate this large structure," he said in a statement.