Total to relinquish Barents Sea block

French oil major Total will divest the PL 535 production licence following poor drilling results, a partner in the block said today.

According to North Energy, which owns a stake in the licence, PL 535 (Norvarg) is set to be relinquished after results from and analyses of the appraisal well failed to demonstrate sufficient commercial potential to continue work with the licence.

Total is the operator of the block, located in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea, with a 40 percent share, while the other partners are North Energy 20 percent, Itacha Energy 13 percent, Det Norske 10 percent, Statoil 10 percent and Rocksource seven per cent.

The PL535 licence was awarded in the 20th licensing round in 2009.

North Energy revealed the news in its 1Q 2014 presentation. The company made a net loss of NOK 27.9 million ($4.7 million) for the first quarter. This related primarily to exploration and licence costs, which totalled NOK 21.6 million ($3.6 million) after tax.