Statoil takes frontier position offshore Australia

Norwegian energy company Statoil said Friday it was expanding its footprint off the Australian coast with an exploration permit for natural gas.

"This award adds another large acreage position with high-impact potential to our global portfolio, in line with our exploration strategy," Erling Vagnes, Statoil's senior vice president for exploration in the Eastern hemisphere, said in a statement. "This is an untested part of a prolific basin, offering significant upside potential."

Statoil said it was awarded a 100 percent equity share in a gas basin off the northwest coast of Australia, its third such asset.

The company said it would conduct seismic surveys in the area within the next three years to determine the reserve potential and review next steps in the operations.

Considered frontier territory, Statoil said the basin in question has "already proved large volumes of gas."

Statoil provided no financial terms for the award. The company has worked in Australia since 2012.