SANDEFJORD, Norway (Reuters) -ConocoPhillips submitted on Monday a plan to develop an oil discovery in the Norwegian North Sea for 10.5 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.10 billion), the U.S. petroleum company said.
Known as Eldfisk North, the development is part of the wider Ekofisk area, where oil has been pumped for more than 50 years, and the new reserves are expected to come on stream in 2024, the company said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Norway introduced tax incentives for fields covered by development plans introduced by the end of 2022, part of Norway’s bid to extend the life of its oil and gas industry for decades.
Ekofisk is operated by ConocoPhillips, which holds a 35.1% stake, while TotalEnergies owns 39.9%, Vaar Energi 12.4%, Equinor 7.6% and Petoro 5%.
Norway is western Europe’s largest oil and gas producer, pumping around four million barrels of oil equivalent per day, but some of its major fields face depletion in the coming decade.
($1 = 9.5506 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik)
