OSLO - Drilling of a Barents Sea well for Norwegian oil and gas group Statoil remained halted on Monday, almost three weeks after it was stopped due to an oil leak from the rig, officials said on Monday.
Statoil stopped drilling the exploration well after 1.6 cubic metres of hydraulic oil was spilled on April 12 from the Eirik Raude rig at its Guovca prospect, an area where oil and gas operations are required to have zero emissions.
The rig is owned by driller Ocean Rig. It was the third leak reported this year from the Eirik Raude.
The Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) and environmental protection officials ordered Statoil and Ocean Rig to document that they could carry out drilling in the Arctic without further harm to the environment before resuming.
But authorities were still reviewing the documentation after a review at the site by their investigators, PSA spokeswoman Inger Anda said.
She said Statoil had hoped to restart drilling before the past weekend, but the authorities had not finished their work.
The PSA would hold a meeting on the matter on Monday, but it was not certain when the authority would be able to give its answer to the resumption request, Anda said.
Statoil and Norwegian rival Norsk Hydro resumed exploration in the Barents Sea this year after the government ended a two-year moratorium on oil and gas activities in the Arctic area in December 2003.
In March, Norsk Hydro completed the first well to be drilled in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea since 2001 but only found traces of oil.
Environmental groups and some opposition politicians have criticised the government's decision to let companies return to the Barents Sea.
Statoil has said it aims to drill two Barents wells this year, and Italy's Eni has also said it will drill an Arctic well at its Goliat prospect if it can secure a rig.
Statoil shares traded off 0.5 percent at 110.50 Norwegian crowns at 1052 GMT, on a rising Oslo bourse. The company is due to report first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
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