Copenhagen (Platts)--26Jan2011/700 am EST/1200 GMT

Norwegian oil and gas group Statoil said Wednesday that it saw significant upside potential in its future activities offshore Angola, following the award of fresh exploration acreage there.

Statoil has just been awarded operatorship of the ultra deepwater Angolan Blocks 38 and 39 with a 40% stake in each. Block 38 covers 6,298 square kilometers and Block 39 covers 7,800 square kilometers.

The company has also won participation in Blocks 22, 25 and 40, with 20% stakes in each, which Statoil said had comprehensive work programs.

On Monday, Angola's state-owned oil group Sonangol announced Statoil's success in the licensing round--along with other international oil groups-- believed to be the first such round to focus on the African nation's pre-salt layer.

Statoil says the pre-salt blocks are acreage in Angola where the main prospective interval was deposited prior to salt deposition.

Other winners in the round announced by Sonangol were Total, ConocoPhillips, BP, Repsol, Eni, and Cobalt Energy Inc. Also securing acreage was China Sonangol, a joint venture based in Hong Kong between Sonangol and Chinese interests.

Statoil said Wednesday that getting access to fresh acreage in Angola was very promising.

"The Angolan pre-salt is a frontier play with high potential," said Statoil Executive Vice President for Exploration Tim Dodson.

He said this presented Statoil with the opportunity to access several "high impact" exploration prospects believed to be analogous to pre-salt Brazil.

"Securing a multiple block portfolio early on in the exploration of this new play is a big advantage," Dodson added. "Such a strong and influential position gives Statoil exposure to significant upside potential should the play be proven."

Statoil says it is currently the fourth largest producer in Angola.

"We are eager to expand our existing Angolan portfolio and to become a more active contributor in the development of the Angolan hydrocarbon sector" Dodson said.

Statoil said its own hard-won deepwater drilling knowledge offshore Norway and elsewhere in the world could help unlock the exploration potential of the pre-salt play in Angola.

As a major partner in Blocks 4/05, 15, 15/06, 17, 31 and 34, Statoil says it already participates in 10 producing fields and in four new fields under development. These are Pazflor, PSVM, the Kizomba satellites and CLOV.

Statoil said Wednesday that its equity production from Angola is currently around 180,000 b/d, representing close to 10% of Statoil's production.

A spokesman for Statoil told Platts Wednesday that he could not comment on how much higher than contribution could rise, but that there was obviously significant potential in Angola.

The Angolan continental shelf is the largest contributor to Statoil's production outside Norway, according to Statoil's corporate website. It yielded 37% of the company's total international oil and gas output in 2009.

Sonangol said exploration in deepwater offshore Angola began in 1991 with the leasing of Block 16, followed by leases of Blocks 14, 15, 17, 18 and 20.

Over 200 exploration and appraisal wells have been drilled in Angola since 1990.

According to the US Energy Information Administration website as of January 2010, Angola had proven oil reserves of 9.5 billion barrels while government statements in December 2009 put total reserve numbers as high as 13.1 billion barrels.

--Patrick McLoughlin, newsdesk@platts.com

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