The consortium between GDF Suez, Shell (operator) and Statoil has been granted two exploration offshore licenses in Blocks 5 and 8, located in the Baffin Bay, west of Greenland, and GDF Suez’s share in each of the two licenses is 26.25%.
Shell, GDF Suez and Statoil had jointly applied at the end of April 2010 for two out of the 14 licenses in the Baffin bay licensing round.
Nunaoil, the national oil company of Greenland, will have a carried interest of 12.5% in each of the licenses during the exploration phase.
Blocks 5 and 8 cover around 20,000sq km and the total exploration period of the license will last ten years, until 2020.
During the first phase (2010-2014), seismic surveys will be performed, and first drilling is envisaged in the second phase (2015-2017).
In case of success, the exploitation phase will be granted for minimum 30 years, GDF Suez said.
