The small Norwegian oil company Petra ASA has struck oil with its first wildcat exploration well in the North Sea, AP QUOTED the sources of the national petroleum directorate as saying Friday. Shares in the company, which was first listed in 2006, rose 7.88 percent to 78.75 kroner (US$14.45, ¤10.09) in morning trading on the Oslo stock exchange after the announcement. The oil was found about 175 kilometers (110 miles) off the western Norway port of Stavanger, in water depths of 90 meters (295 feet), a Norwegian Petroleum Directorate news release said. It was too early to determine the size of the discovery. The site is located between two existing North Sea fields, Sleipner and Varg. The small company, which was founded in 2002, was awarded the exploration block in 2004 as part of the Norwegian government drive to find small oil deposits near existing offshore fields in hopes of maintaining flows that make Norway a major oil exporter. Small finds that can be tied in to existing production systems can dramatically cut the cost of field development. «Making a discovery in our first exploration well is a good credit to our exploration staff and very exciting,» Pertra Chief Executive Erik Haugane said in a separate statement. «We will now investigate if the volumes are sufficient for a commercial development.» The company was founded with the goal of finding and developing small- to medium-sized oil and natural gas fields in the waters off Norway. Petra owns a 45 percent interest in the field and Britain's Dana Petroleum PLC has 25 percent. Two other Norwegian companies, Revus Energy ASA and Bridge Energy, have 20 percent and 10 percent stakes, respectively.
