Statoil's Trestakk PDO Approved By Norwegian Authorities

Statoil (OL:STL) ASA (NYSE:STO) recently declared that the Trestakk discovery has received approval from the Norwegian authorities for the Plan for Development and Operation (PDO).

Located on the Halten Bank in the Norwegian Sea, the Trestakk discovery was found in 1986. The discovery is estimated to involve investments of NOK 5.5 billion, nearly 50% of the initial estimate. The original estimates for developing Trestakk were about NOK 10 billion. At the time of concept choice in Jan 2016, the costs had been lowered to NOK 7 billion. Based on further improvements and concept adjustments leading to investment decision, the costs were lowered to NOK 5.5 billion.

On Nov 1, 2016, Statoil submitted the PDO to the minister of petroleum and energy, on behalf of the license owners.

Trestakk is expected to hold recoverable volumes of 76 million barrels of oil equivalent, mainly oil. Tied into the Åsgard A production vessel, the discovery is anticipated to come online in 2019. Statoil and its partners now expect to recover much more oil than originally estimated.

The field development includes a subsea template and a tied-in satellite well. Three production wells and two gas injection wells will be drilled.

Cost reductions have been attained by an innovative approach to concept choice, simplification and optimized scope, along with benefitting from on-going efficiency measures.

Statoil operates the Trestakk discovery with 59.1% interest. Other partners are ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) and Eni SpA (TO:E) holding 33% and 7.9%, respectively.

Investor confidence on the Statoil stock is reflected in its price chart. Shares of the company gained 2.1% in the last six months, while the Zacks categorized Oil & Gas – International Integrated industry registered an increase of 1.7% in the same time span.

Currently, Statoil carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Investors interested in the space can also consider Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. (TO:BXE) , which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Bellatrix Exploration posted a positive earnings surprise of 240.00% in the preceding quarter. It beat estimates in three of the four trailing quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 58.54%.

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