Wintershall increases interest in Maria

May 26, 2011
Wintershall Norge has agreed with Spring Energy and Concedo to acquire shares from each of 15% and 10%, respectively, in the Maria discovery 200 km (125 mi) off Trondheim, Norway.

Offshore staff

STAVANGER, Norway – Wintershall Norge has agreed with Spring Energy and Concedo to acquire shares from each of 15% and 10%, respectively, in the Maria discovery 200 km (125 mi) off Trondheim, Norway. This will bring Wintershall’s total holding to 50%.

Wintershall, as operator, says it plans to drill and appraisal well at Maria before year end.

The discovery is estimated to have from 60 to 120 MMbbl of recoverable oil and 2 to 5 bcm (71 to 177 bcf) of recoverable gas, says Wintershall.

Maria was discovered in the summer of 2010 after Wintershall was awarded the production licenses PL 475 BS and PL 475 CS in the APA 2008 and APA 2010 licensing rounds. The discovery is in the Garn formation in a large Jurassic horst area trending northeast to the southwest. The Garn formation provides a reservoir for several fields in central Norway.

Presuming government approvals, ownership in licenses PL 475BS and PL 475CS will be Wintershall Norge ASA 50% (operator), Petoro AS 30%, and Centrica Resources (Norge) AS 20%. In license PL 475, shares will be Wintershall Norge ASA 50% (operator), Faroe Petroleum Norge AS 30%, and Centrica Resources (Norge) AS 20%

05/26/2011