Statoil Boosts Exploration Amid Cheapest Drilling in Years
- Norwegian company plans 30 wells in sign of renewed optimism
- Exploration spending still far from record-high of boom years
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Statoil ASA, one of many international oil companies to slash spending during crude’s collapse, is increasing exploration for the first time since 2013 as cost cuts and lower fees from squeezed suppliers allow it to get more work done for less.
Statoil plans about 30 exploration wells as an operator or partner in 2017, up from 23 last year, the company said Wednesday in a statement. As many as 18 will be drilled off Norway, where it’s based, with a focus on new blocks in the Arctic Barents Sea.