Norwegian industrial concern Norsk Hydro reportedly has made a promising new oil and gas discovery in the Barents Sea, but it's also causing serious environmental concerns.
The new strike from Hydro's Nucula field is quite close to the coast of northern Norway, and equipment tied to the field can even be seen from the North Cape, one of the country's most famous tourist attractions.
That's scaring those worried about protecting Norway's shoreline in the event of accidents. Environmentalists want to stop development of the field just west of the North Cape, for fear of oil spills that could quickly soil the fragile Arctic environment.
The Nucula field, however, could contain even more oil and gas than the large Goliat field, reports newspaper Dagens Næringsliv, DN. One of its sister publications, Upstream, already has reported that the field is believed to be operational, and industry buzz started earlier this month that the field not only contained significant quantities of oil and gas, but that it could lead to more strikes in the Barents.
Nearly 70 drilling operations have been mounted in the Barents since 1980 but only two have been operational, Snøhvit and Goliat.
Hydro owns 30 percent of the license for Nucula, as does Italian oil firm Eni. The British BG Group and the Norwegian state, through Petoro, own 20 percent each.
Hydro is mostly staying mum about its results from drilling at the Nucula field, telling DN it will come with more information “after March 1.” Geological background information has suggested Nucula could yield up to 500 million barrels of oil, compared to Goliat's 250 million.
