DONG Energy intensifies oil and gas exploration in Great Britain

Press release from DONG Energy sent at 04:00 PM on Thursday 13.11.2008

DONG Energy intensifies oil and gas exploration in Great Britain

The British Department of Energy and Climate Change has just awarded DONG Energy 21 new exploration blocks consisting of a total area of 3600km2 in the region around the West of Shetlands. 

The British Department of Energy and Climate Change has just awarded DONG Energy 21 new exploration blocks consisting of a total area of 3600km2 in the region around the West of Shetlands. The company is already expecting to commence work on collecting seismic data in the newly awarded licence areas next year.

On 12 November 2008 DONG Energy was awarded the entire exploration area that it had applied for in connection with the 25th UK licensing round. The company has also been awarded 17 new blocks as an operator and four in which it is a partner. DONG Energy is one of the most active energy companies in the West of Shetlands region; the new blocks add to the company’s previous total area of 5,500 km2 on British licences. It has interests in three of the largest finds that have been made in the region in recent years.

"We at DONG Energy have set a goal for ourselves that 30 percent of the natural gas we deliver to our customers has to come from our own production. Exploration activities are fundamental to maintaining, renewing and expanding our reserves, so for that reason we are particularly pleased that the British authorities are awarding us appealing new licences in a most competitive market. The new licences are located in the vicinity of our existing finds and will further consolidate our position as one of the leading companies in the region," DONG Energy Group Executive Vice President of Exploration and Production, Søren Gath Hansen, said.The West of Shetlands region represents almost one fifth of all of the UK’s remaining oil and natural gas reserves, and the development of the region will reduce the UK’s sensitivity to energy imports, in addition to improving the security of supply."We wish to consolidate our position in the region by continuing to drill new exploration and survey wells and create opportunities to get finds into production as rapidly as possible. Due to the remote location, the sea depth and the inhospitable weather conditions, the region poses a lot of challenges, but the great potential in the region means we are anticipating being able to produce significant quantities of gas and oil within the next decade," Søren Gath Hansen said.

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DONG Energy is one of Northern Europe’s leading energy groups. We are headquartered in Denmark. Our business is based on procuring, producing, distributing, trading and selling energy and related products in Northern Europe. The company delivered revenue of DKK 41.6 billion in 2007 (approx. EUR 5.6 billion or USD 8.3 billion). DONG Energy has more than 5,000 employees. For further information, see www.dongenergy.com.