Norwegian oil group Statoil announced Friday the discovery of significant new oil resources in its Gullfaks licence in the Norwegian waters of the North Sea.
Preliminary estimates indicate additional reserves of between 40 and 150 million recoverable barrels of oil equivalent, but the estimates are uncertain and the figure could in fact be higher, Statoil said.
The Gullfaks licence hosts one of Norway's biggest oil fields, which has been in production since December 1986.
Statoil, which is partially state-owned, holds 70 percent of the Gullfaks licence while the wholly state-owned group Petoro holds 30 percent.
Norway's largest oil company Statoil officially changed its name to Equinor on Wednesday as it forges ahead with its drive into renewable energy.
Proposed in March and adopted on Tuesday at the shareholders' general meeting, the name change allows the company to take a step back — at least in name — from the Norwegian state, which owns 67 percent of its shares, and from oil.
Equinor is meant to combine the idea of equity and equilibrium (“equi”) and geographical origin (“nor”) for Norway.
Founded in 1972 to operate Norway's large oil fields, the company — which is listed on both the Oslo and New York stock exchanges — is now active in renewable energies, including wind farms off the UK coast.
The group has earmarked 15-20 percent of its investments to “new energy solutions” by 2030.
But this shift has been cold shouldered by environmentalists concerned about global warming as they accuse the company of “green washing”.
“Statoil name change to attract young talent will not be sufficient as long as Equinor is exploring in vulnerable areas, such as the Arctic or the Great Australian Bight,” tweeted Truls Gulowsen, leader for Greenpeace in Norway.
– Statoil name change to attract young talent will not be sufficient as long as #Equinor is exploring in vulnerable areas, such as the Arctic or the Great Australian Bight https://t.co/TNzSRt4hld
— Truls Gulowsen (@TrulsGulowsen) May 15, 2018
READ ALSO: Norway pledges to spend less oil money in new budget
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