Abstract
Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS acquired a 9.6% interest in Production Licenses 057 and 089 in 1989. These licenses are located in the Northern North Sea, and comprised the Snorre, Tordis and Statfjord East oil fields when acquired. The estimated recoverable reserve in the Snorre area was increased from 900 million boe in 1990 to 2,880 million boe in 2011 as a result of the successful improved recovery technology and discovery of new satellite fields of Vigdis, Borg and Sygna, etc.. In order to fill the decline of production in the Snorre area, the company acquired a 15% interest of Production License 090 in 2002, comprises the Fram West and East fields. The new discoveries were also made in the Fram area and development plans are being considered. Since 2004 Idemitsu has actively participated in the annual licensing round and a number of licenses were awarded in the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea as well as in the North Sea. In the new licenses, the Knarr, Peon and Titan, etc. were discovered, and a Plan for Development and Operation of the Knarr field was approved by the gorverment. There are a number of promising discoveries in Idemitsu's portfolio and the company is constructively working with the operators to find optimal development solutions. The net oil production reached the peak of 40,000 b/d in 2004 and declined to 25,000 b/d by the year 2011 but will be back to 35,000 b/d in 2014 when the Knarr field starts production.
