Statoil to continue Arctic exploration in 2018 despite disappointing campaign

OSLO, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 9 (Reuters) - Statoil (LSE: 0M2Z.L - news) 's exploration campaign in the Barents Sea was disappointing this year, but the company has firm plans to drill another five wells there in 2018, a spokesman said on Monday.

Statoil's last Barents well of 2017, at Koigen Central some 100 kilometres northwest of the Johan Castberg discovery, failed to find hydrocarbons, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said earlier.

In five exploration wells drilled by Statoil in the Barents Sea this year, the company made only one small oil discovery.

"This year's campaign didn't give the results we have hoped for in terms of having new standalone developments, but we are going to continue to explore the Barents Sea and already have firm plans to drill five wells in the Barents Sea in 2018," the spokesman said.

"Of course, we are disappointed, given that we hoped for better results this year." (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik)