mikudagur 9. september 2009síða 1

10 SEPTEMBER 2009 The Danish oil- and gas company Dong is today one of the most active companies on the Atlantic Margin frontier, particularly in the area between Shetland and the Faroes. Recently this company embarked upon its first drilling as an operator west of Shetland AtlAntic MArgin Jan Müller jan@sosialurin.fo -“Everything has gone according to plan. The Transocean Rather drilling platform is well ahead of schedule, now it is drilling the Glenlivet prospect, which is the first ever prospect to be drilled west of Shetland with Dong as the operating company”, says Mr Søren Andersen, who is the Dong exploration manager for the Atlantic Margin area. The Glenlivet prospect was spudded in mid-August together with Faroe Petroleum and First Oil. The Glenlivet is located app. halfway between Shetland and the Faroes. This is a gas prospect, which is looking promising. If the drilling operation proceeds as it has to date, the target area will be reached by app. the 10th of September. Sosialurin met Mr Andersen in a caféé in Copenhagen, where he presented some maps of the licensed areas held by Dong on the Atlantic Margin. He is quite proud when he announces that Dong holds the highest number of exploration licenses in this area, a total of 29 in the UK sector and 3 in Faroe waters. Originally, the company participated in four Faroe licenses, but the company recently took the decision to abandon participation in its fourth license, which it has been a partner in for many years. Mr Andersen says that when they conclude that a license does not contain hydrocarbons, they return it to the authorities and turn their attention to maturing their other licenses. He is very pleased they are participating in a license awarded in the third licensing round, with StatoilHydro as the operating company. Seismic surveys have been shot on the area this summer and they will now begin to interpret the collected data to determine the correct location to position the drill. The StatoilHydro management have announced that drilling will most likely take place in 2011. Dong is participating in five drilling operation west of Shetland this year and most of them, for example the oilfields Rosebank and Cambo, are located quite close to the Faroe border. This is also the reason why the company has strived to land a Faroe license close to the border. ENI is set to drill a well in the neighbourhood in six months time Dong will monitor this operation very closely, says Mr Andersen. He is in no doubt that Rosebank, Cambo and Laggan, to which Dong is a partner, will all be developed over the coming years. However, these are just a few of the company’s core areas west of Shetland, there are other areas to the east and north. Dong will participate in a drilling in the far south, west of Shetland this year. This is the Tornado prospect very close to the Faroe border and Faroe Petroleum is the drilling operator. Dong active on the Atlantic Margin frontier A good-humoured Mr Søren Andersen, Exploration Manager at Dong for the Atlantic Margin Frontier. Photo: Jan Müller