By Marianne Stigset – Aug 25, 2010 4:01 PM GMT+0100
A dry appraisal well at Royal Dutch Shell Plcs Gro discovery in the Norwegian Sea would be a blow to efforts to develop a hub for natural gas production, the countrys Petroleum Directorate said.
Newspaper Upstream reported today that a Shell appraisal well at Gro was virtually dry, citing an unidentified person in the industry. The result means the volume estimate of 10 billion to 100 billion cubic meters of gas is expected to remain unchanged, Upstream said.
The directorate hasnt received the results from the well, spokeswoman Eldbjoerg Vaage Melberg said in Stavanger, Norway. Angela Cleveland, Shells commercial director for upstream, today declined to comment when asked at a conference in the same town on the countrys west coast.
Its the quality of the reservoir that is the big question, Bente Nyland, head of the directorate, said today in an interview in Stavanger during the conference. Gro and Dalsnuten are the biggest prospects, so if the results there arent positive, interest is likely to fall.
Norway, the worlds second-biggest gas exporter, is seeking to develop a center for production in the Norwegian Sea that also includes finds by Statoil ASA and Total SA. The country discovered oil more than 40 years ago and is seeking to raise gas production as North Sea oil fields are depleted.
Deepwater Well
The appraisal well at Gro started in May at a depth of 1,300 meters (4,300 feet), according to the directorate. Shell also operates Dalsnuten in the same area, which will be drilled afterwards, the agency said in July.
Norway hasnt had a major gas discovery since Ormen Lange in 1997 and has pinned its hopes that the Gro would be major find. Nyland said it was a medium-sized discovery when estimates for the field were announced in June last year.
Ormen Lange, operated by Shell, has recoverable reserves of 301 billion cubic meters, according to the directorate. Thats equal to about three years of Norways annual output.
Statoil is working on developing the discoveries on deepwater that have been made there, Nyland said. So once you have an infrastructure in place, it would be interesting to add new resources to that infrastructure and then smaller finds would rapidly be interesting.
Statoils Chief Executive Officer Helge Lund said today in an interview that more wells are needed to determine the interest of the area. Statoil holds a 40 percent stake in Gro.
Interest in this area will not be decided by one well but with knowledge one acquires through several wells, seismic and other work, Lund said. But of course its better to make large discoveries than to drill disappointing wells.
To contact the reporter on this story: Marianne Stigset at [email protected]
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
