November18--StatoilHydro was awarded an interest in two licenses off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in a land sale award announced yesterday, 17 November 2008. The company will operate one of the licenses.

"We are pleased with the results of this license round. It shows our commitment to the region and our ambition to explore the offshore areas of the east coast of Canada," says Svein Ivar Leivestad, head of offshore exploration in StatoilHydro Canada.

The first licence is in the Flemish Pass Basin, close to StatoilHydro's Mizzen well that will be drilled this winter. StatoilHydro is the operator with a 65% working interest, with Husky as the partner with 35%.

The second licence is in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin, with a 50% StatoilHydro interest. Petro-Canada is the operator.

"StatoilHydro is already working with the same partners in other licenses and we look forward to continuing the cooperation with them. With our expertise in offshore and harsh environments this will give us new opportunities to develop our Canadian assets further," Leivestad states.

StatoilHydro is a partner in the Hibernia and Terra Nova fields offshore Canada, with 5% and 15% working interest respectively, in addition to being a partner in developing the Hebron offshore field.