Judy Maksoud
International Editor

HOUSTON -- Rolf Utseth, vice president of subsea increased oil recover (IOR) at Statoil, told reporters at a press conference at the Offshore Technology Conference that the company is investing significantly in IOR. "IOR has been the focus of Statoil from day one," he said.

Utseth shared data from Statoil fields that showed a subsea recovery rate of 45%. The goal, he said, is to increase that number to 55% by 2008.

To achieve that objective, the company is focusing on five points, Utseth said, identifying oil targets, low-cost drainage points, low-cost well intervention, increased fluid handling, and integrated operations.

Statoil has a wealth of subsea experience, Utseth said. The company has used subsea processing since it began producing offshore Norway. "We are increasingly becoming a subsea operator."

The Hydro/Statoil merger will expand the number of subsea installations," Utseth said. When the merger is complete, he said, "We'll be the largest subsea operator.

Utseth discussed the advantages of subsea production using Norway's Tories field as an example. The technology applied on Tordis is not only applicable off Norway, he said. "A lot of the technology we've developed is applicable to the Gulf of Mexico, particularly to extremely deep water," he said.

4/30/2007