Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Statoil (OSE:STL; NYSE:STO) has agreed to transfer operatorship of the Vilje field in the Norwegian North Sea to Marathon Oil Norge.
The agreement takes effect on Sept. 1, subject to the approval of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. It does not involve any change of stakes in the production license (PL 036D).
Statoil says the changeover means that a rig due to be deployed for the Vilje South development will be available for other Statoil drilling jobs.
Vilje was developed via two subsea wells connected to theAlvheim production vessel, 20 km (12.4 mi) to the southwest. The field came onstream in August 2008, and is expected to produce 21,000 b/d of oil in 2012.
First oil from the Vilje South development is scheduled for end-2013.
5/16/2012
