• Greenland – we are in the process of evaluating seismic surveys
• The Barents Sea – the next step is to drill wells

It is a DONG Energy target that 30% of the natural gas we sell must come from internal production. Consequently, we have directed our focus at new areas over the years because the reserves on Danish shelf are decreasing. First, we crossed the border to Norway where we are ia involved in production in the large Ormen Lange natural gas field and in 2000, we became involved in the West of Shetland area. Today, DONG Energy is the major licence holder in this area and we have made several promising discoveries. The discoveries are now being evaluated and plans for development and production are being made.

DONG Energy’s latest focus areas in the search for resources in the subsoil are the sea surrounding Greenland and the Barents Sea. Potentially there are major undiscovered oil and natural gas resources in the Arctics.

Major challenges
The Arctics is a gigantic area which is very varied with a sensitive environment. Some areas are similar to the areas we work in today. Other areas are characterised by ice, icebergs or deep water. This entails significant challenges in connection with exploration but also in connection with the installation of production facilities and the possibilities of transporting the oil and natural gas on shore. It is only possible to do work in some of the areas during a limited period of the year.

We were involved in exploration activities in Greenland already in the mid 1990s. DONG Energy was one of the licence partners in the Fylla licence and involved in drilling one well. The well did not prove oil or natural gas but we gained significant insight into the challenges related to undertaking exploration activities in the Arctics. Now, we benefit from this experience and hopefully we will be able to produce oil and natural gas in this area after year 2020. This may seem far off in the future but considering the challenges we face in the area, we will be really proud if we are able to start producing within the next ten years.

Greenland
Since 2007 we have performed exploration activities in the Puilasoq licence west of Disko. Here, we have undertaken seismic acquisition and are now in the process of evaluating the seismic data to assess the quantity and accessibility of the oil and natural gas deposits. When the evaluation work is finished, we must decide whether to drill wells in the area.

The Barents Sea
DONG Energy have also initiated exploration activities in the Barents Sea which surrounds the northernmost part of the Scandinavian peninsula, but we are further in the process here than in Greenland.

We have acquired seismic data for the western part of the Barents Sea and we have performed seismic surveys in the southern part. In both areas, subsequent evaluation of the seismic surveys has resulted in the decision to drill wells. The wells must confirm our assumptions and models indicating oil and natural gas in the area. In particular, we have great expectations to the southern area where other companies have also made discoveries.