Statoil Announces First Oil From Jack/St. Malo Project in the Gulf of Mexico

HOUSTON, Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Statoil STO announced that oil and natural gas production has started today from the Jack/St. Malo project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The addition of production from Jack/St. Malo is an important building block of Statoil's plan to have more than a four-fold increase in offshore production from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico by 2020.

The Jack and St. Malo fields are located within 25 miles (40 km) of each other in approximately 7,000 feet (2,100 m) of water in the Walker Ridge area, approximately 280 miles (450 km) south of New Orleans, Louisiana. The fields were co-developed with subsea completions flowing back to a single host, semi-submersible floating production unit located between the fields, with a production capacity of 170,000 barrels of oil and 42.5 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, and with the capability for future expansion.

Crude oil will be transported 137 miles to the Green Canyon 19 Platform via the Jack/St. Malo Oil Export Pipeline, and then onto refineries along the Gulf Coast. The pipeline is the first large-diameter, ultra-deepwater pipeline in the Walker Ridge area.

Total production from the two fields is expected to eventually ramp up to 94,000 barrels of oil-equivalent per day.  Statoil's expected production from the combined fields is approximately 23,000 barrels of oil/day at peak production. 

The Jack and St. Malo fields were discovered in 2004 and 2003, respectively, and are estimated to contain combined total recoverable resources in excess of 500 million oil-equivalent barrels.

"We are very pleased to see production begin of these high-value barrels at Jack/St. Malo," said Jason Nye, senior vice president, U.S. Offshore, Statoil. "Also, this large, complex project was delivered on-time and on-budget, which is world-class execution."

Statoil has a working interest of 25 percent in the Jack field, with co-owners Chevron (50%) and Maersk Oil (25%).  Statoil also holds a 21.5 percent working interest in the St. Malo field, with co-owners Chevron (51%), Petrobras (25%), ExxonMobil (1.25%) and Eni (1.25%); and a 27.9 percent ownership interest in the host facility, with co-owners Chevron (40.6%), Petrobras (15%), ExxonMobil (10.75%), Maersk (5%), and Eni (0.75%).

Along with Jack/St. Malo, Statoil has a very attractive deepwater development portfolio in the Gulf of Mexico with ownership in many of the largest fields coming on line over the next several years:  Big Foot (Statoil 27 percent); Julia (Statoil 50 percent); Stampede (Statoil 25 percent); and Vito (Statoil 30 percent).  At peak production with full field development, these projects combined are expected to lift Statoil's Gulf of Mexico production to well over 100,000 barrels of oil/day, making it among the largest producers in the Gulf of Mexico.

When the Exxon Mobil-operated Julia project begins production in 2016, its production will be a tie-in to the Jack/St. Malo platform.  Statoil's oil production will be transported via the Jack/St. Malo Oil Export Pipeline.  

Statoil is an international energy company with operations in 36 countries. Building on 40 years of experience from oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf, we are committed to accommodating the world's energy needs in a responsible manner, applying technology and creating innovative business solutions. We are headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, with approximately 23,000 employees worldwide, and are listed on the Oslo and New York stock exchanges.

Further information:
Media relations

Jim Schwartz, head of U.S. Offshore communications, Development & Production North America
Tel:  1 (713) 485-2589 or mobile 1 (713) 269-2433

Knut Rostad, international press spokesperson
Tel: +47 905 48 990

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SOURCE Statoil