A new oil discovery has been made in block 31 off Angola, where Statoil has a 13.33 per cent interest.
Operator BP and Angolan national oil company Sonangol have affirmed this.
The find, called Venus, is the fourth discovery in block 31. The other three are named Plutão, Saturno and Marte.
According to BP, the Venus-1 well was drilled to a depth of 2,000 metres and three oil-bearing zones were established in the reservoir.
Since all four finds so far in block 31 lie near each other, the licence partners are considering a joint field development. But BP emphasises that all aspects of a development will have to be more closely examined.
"Statoil assesses the Venus-1 well as an important find which strengthens the possibility of a joint development of the north-eastern corner of block 31," says Morten Sola, exploration manager for western Africa in the International Exploration & Production business area.
Statoil participates in deepwater blocks 15, 17 and 31 off Angola with an interest of 13.33 per cent in each of them.