UPDATE 1-StatoilHydro finds oil in two Norwegian Sea wells
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OSLO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Norwegian oil and gas group StatoilHydro (STL.OL) has found oil in two wells in the Norwegian Sea, and drilled one dry well in the North Sea, energy officials and the company said on Tuesday.
"The preliminary estimate of proven recoverable resources is between 4 and 8 million Sm3 (standard cubic metres) of oil," The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said in a statement.
StatoilHydro said in a separate statement that the preliminary estimate for recoverable reserves was 25 million to 50 million barrels in its first find in 2009.
The discovery was made in production licence 128 on the Dompap prospect, where StatoilHydro has close to 64 percent of the interest.
Other partners in the licence are Eni SpA (ENI.MI) with 11.5 percent and state-owned Petoro with 24.5 percent. The discovery is located about 17 kilometres (10.6 miles) northeast of the Norne field.
"Even if their volumes are modest compared with the big finds made earlier on the NCS (Norwegian Continental Shelf), such strikes are important for maximising oil recovery by helping to extend the production life of installations," StatoilHydro said in its statement.
The dry well, in production licence 296, is located 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) northeast of the Ekofisk field in the North Sea. StatoilHydro holds 60 percent in the licence, while Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) holds a 40 percent interest.
Shares in StatoilHydro fell 0.9 percent to 11.90 crowns at 0803 GMT, roughly in line with the main index at the Oslo bourse .OSEBX. (Reporting by Aasa Christine Stoltz; Editing by David Holmes)
