Statoil has racked up its third crude oil discovery in the deepwater Flemish Pass Basin offshore Newfoundland, increasing the potential commerciality of a new floating production hub off Canada’s east coast.

The discovery was made on the Bay du Nord prospect (EL1112), located approximately 500 km northeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. The find is the second for Statoil offshore Newfoundland this year – in June it made a light oil discovery on the Harpoon prospect, located approximately 10 km from Bay du Nord (see DI, 24 June 2013, page 1).

“The success of Bay du Nord is the result of an ambitious and targeted drilling campaign in the Flemish Pass Basin,” said Statoil’s exploration executive vice president, Tim Dodson. “This discovery is very encouraging.”

Dodson added that as the volumes of both the Bay du Nord and Harpoon wells continue to be evaluated, Statoil is developing a greater understanding of the geology and potential of the basin. “The Flemish Pass Basin is a strategic part of Statoil’s global exploration portfolio. We are now planning to return to the area for further appraisal drilling in the future,” he said.

The Bay du Nord and Harpoon wells were drilled by the semisubmersible rig West Aquarius, both in approximately 1,100 m (3,609 ft) of water.

Bay du Nord is also located about 20 km south of Statoil’s Mizzen discovery. The Mizzen find, announced in 2010, is estimated to hold between 100-200 MMbbl of oil.

Statoil is the operator of Bay du Nord and Harpoon with a 65% interest. Husky Energy has a 35% stake.